Winfrey posed with scholarship winners (from left) Coral Gonzalez Diana, Daphne Shakira Naut, Flore Stécie Norcéide, Ashlie Grasa, Jaime Waldron and Nicholas Abourizk during a Nov. 15 reception in Lowell. (Courtesy photograph/Tory Wesnofske for UMass Lowell)
You get a scholarship! You get a scholarship! Everybody gets a scholarship from Oprah Winfrey! Well…not really: Just Haverhill’s Jaime Waldron and Methuen’s Nicholas Abourizk.
The two UMass Lowell students were among six students honored by the broadcasting legend last week during Winfrey’s visit to the campus as part of Chancellor Jacquie Moloney’s Speaker Series.
The scholarships were presented during Winfrey’s 90-minute conversation Nov. 15, which was prompted in part due to Winfrey’s friendship with author and Haverhill native Andre Dubus, whose “House of Sand and Fog” was named an Oprah Book Club pick. Dubus teaches English at the University when he’s not on tour promoting his latest novel “Gone So Long.”
Waldron is a sophomore with a double major in criminal justice and business administration, while senior Abourizk is pursuing a degree in English and theater arts. According to the university, the six recipients were selected for the scholarships based on financial need and academic achievement.
UMass President Marty Meehan also presented Winfrey with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during her visit.