CHESTNUT HILL (CBS) – Oprah Winfrey paid a surprise visit to Boston College on Thursday.

Winfrey stopped in to meet with seven young women from South Africa who part of the first graduating class of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.

All seven are headed to college in the fall. BC is running a summer program to help them prepare for the experience.

Boston College is the only US college or university offering an enrichment program to OWLAG graduates.

“This is an important initiative because the first few months of university life—academic and social—for freshmen are crucial to their success in their first year, especially international students,” said Joy Haywood Moore, who runs the program.

OWLAG was founded by Oprah Winfrey in 2007 to provide an education for economically disadvantaged South African girls in grades eight through 12.