奧普拉.溫弗裏女子領袖學院迎來首批畢業生

In 2007, the Oprah Winfrey leadership Academy opened its doors to academically gifted, underprivileged girls in South Africa. On Saturday, the first class graduated, with a 100 percent pass rate.

2007年，在南非的奧普拉·溫弗裏女子領袖中學向成績優秀的、貧苦的女孩們敞開了它的大門。星期六，這家學院第一個班的學生畢業了，畢業率達到100%。

A proud mother. That is how Oprah Winfrey has described herself, as she watches the Class of 2011 leave the nest. The girls are the first batch to graduate from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, in Johannesburg’s south. And the American media mogul has reason to be proud. The school boasts a perfect pass rate, and all of the girls have secured spots at universities, either in South Africa or the United States.

奧普拉·溫弗裏看着2011級的學生們畢業離開學院，她稱她自己爲驕傲的母親。這些女孩是位於約翰內斯堡南部的奧普拉·溫弗裏領袖學院的首批畢業生。這位美國傳媒女王有理由感到驕傲。這家中學學院擁有完美的畢業率，所有女孩都被南非或美國的大學錄取。

“The thing that I’m most proud of is not the academics, the academics I expected," said Oprah Winfrey. "The thing I’m most proud of is that everyone’s been accepted to college, and everyone’s going and we’ve created a support system to make that happen. But even more important than that, everyone walks out of here with the grace and dignity from which they were raised. Their integrity, their character, their grace and their kindness is what every parent would wish, that’s what you want, as a parent.”

奧普拉說:"我感到最驕傲的一點不是我期待的學習成績。我感到最驕傲的是，她們每個人都被大學錄取，每個人都將去上大學，我們爲此建立了一個支持系統。但更爲重要的是，每個人帶着優雅和高貴的品質走出這個學院。她們的真誠、她們的品質和她們的善良是每位父母所希望看到的，這就是作爲父母的你們所想要的。"

The school’s concept arose from a conversation Winfrey had with former South African president Nelson Mandela years ago.

這個學院的辦學理念來自於幾年前溫弗裏與南非前總統曼德拉的一段對話。

“When I had the conversation with Madiba in his living room, our conversation revolved around how do we end poverty. This is how we do it. This is the beginning of the ending of poverty," she said. "These girls have now broken the cycle of poverty in their families, being the first to go on to college and to do whatever they choose to do - key word, what they choose to do - with their lives, they no longer have to accept the standard that their mothers and their forefathers had to bear, because there were not the opportunities.”

奧普拉說:"當我和馬迪巴在他的客廳進行那次談話時，我們的談話涉及如何消除貧困的問題。這就是我們所做的。這就是消除貧困的開始。這些女孩現在已經打破了她們家庭的貧困循環，成爲第一個上大學的人，成爲第一個做自己選擇的事的人。最重要的正是，她們走自己選擇的人生，她們不再必須接受她們的母親和祖輩因爲沒有機會而不得不忍受的一切。"

Education is currently in the spotlight in South Africa, where a number of students who leave school are not able to gain admission to universities, either because their grades are not good enough, or tertiary institutions are full for the year. Recently, a mother was killed in a stampede outside the University of Johannesburg as she lined up, hoping to register her son. Winfrey says there is a lesson to be learned from her academy’s success.

如今教育在南非受到關注。在南非，有很多離開中學的學生無法進入大學，要麼是因爲他們的成績不夠好，要麼是因爲高校年度招生名額已滿。最近，一位在約翰內斯堡大學外排隊希望給兒子遞交入學申請的母親被擁擠的人羣踩踏致死。溫弗裏說，從她的學院的成功中可以汲取到一個教訓。

“This model was created specifically to say to South Africa, if you invest in leadership, not just in schools, not just in passing tests, not just in trying to get the exams, but you invest in leadership, the leadership will pay off to your communities and to your nation,” she added.

奧普拉說:"這個學院的模式是特別爲南非而建立的。如果你投資於領袖的培養，那就不僅僅是投資於學校，不僅僅是爲了通過測驗，不僅僅是設法通過考試，而是投資於培養領袖人才，領袖人才將會給你們的社區和國家帶來貢獻。"All of the academy’s Grade 12 students have been accepted to universities either in South Africa, or abroad. Most of them have graduated from high school with distinctions in multiple subjects. Now, it is with great excitement - and a bit of fear - that they leave their academic home. But Mashadi Kekana says she is prepared for the road ahead.

這家中學的所有12年級學生都被南非或國外的大學錄取。她們中的大多數人已以多個學科的優異成績從高中畢業。現在，是既令人興奮又有點擔心的時刻，她們要離開學院了。但是瑪沙迪·科卡納說，她已準備好邁向前方的道路。

“I do feel pressure, pressure from myself, pressure from family, from the school - even though I’m not here anymore after this, pressure from my community," said Kekana. "But one thing I’ve noticed about OWLA girls, is that pressure makes us thrive. And as human beings, everybody reaches a point where they ask, am I good enough. And thanks to Mum Oprah and the support team we have here at school, the answer to that question now after five years is yes, I am good enough.”

瑪沙迪說:"當然我感到有壓力，來自我自己的壓力，來自家人的壓力，來自學院的壓力--儘管在這之後我不會再在這個學院，還有來自社區的壓力。不過我已經注意到的一點是，對奧普拉·溫弗裏領袖學院(OWLA)的女孩們來說，壓力讓我們茁壯成長。作爲一個人，每個人在某個時候都會問，我足夠好嗎?感謝奧普拉媽媽和這裏的支持團隊，5年後的現在對於這個問題的答案是，是的，我已足夠好。"

As these girls take the next step on their life journey, a support system has been put in place. Advisors will be available to them, as they learn to manage their own lives and finances, and plan their futures. And for all of them, the future appears decidedly brighter, since Oprah Winfrey stepped into their lives.

當這些女孩踏出她們人生旅程的下一步，已有一個支持團隊在給她們作後盾。當她們學習如何管理自己的生活和財務以及計劃她們的未來時，可以向諮詢人員諮詢。自從奧普拉·溫弗裏進入了她們的生活，對於她們所有人來說，未來看起來無疑更加光明。