Oprah, Michelle Obama Surprise West Orange Students

WEST ORANGE, NJ — They walked into the room to talk to producers from Oprah Magazine about the midterm election. What awaited was something just as climactic as the election results: media mogul Oprah Winfrey and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

A group of four West Orange High School students got the chance to meet the high-powered duo in September at the Hearst Tower in New York City, headquarters of "O," the Oprah Magazine.

Here’s how the meeting went down, according to the West Orange School District:

“Obama was to appear on a special taping of SuperSoul Conversation with Winfrey when Editor-at-Large Gayle King suggested the addition of surprising some high school students. The magazine invited 30 female high school leaders from three non-profit NY/NJ organizations: Harlem Children’s Zone, Uncommon School Group, and GrassROOTS SuperGirls Society to come to headquarters and provide their perspective of politics following the midterm elections. What they did not know was that Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey planned to surprise the group in person.”

West Orange school administrators continued:

“West Orange High School seniors, Student Council President Selam Woldai and Health Careers Club Vice-President Siddhi Modi, along with freshmen Marley Dias and Amina Anekwe, attended the event as part of the Grassroots Community Foundation. Dias and her mother, Dr. Janice Johnson, helped to form GCF. Johnson is the president of the organization.”

Arianna Davis of "O" magazine recalled how the high school students arrived that morning, armed with “energy, notebooks and sparkly pens.”

According to Davis:

“Our video producer Bree Green explained to the group that cameras would be filming the day for a special election season video, and we were most interested in hearing their feedback about an interview that Oprah and Mrs. Obama had recently taped. The teens had no idea that the interview they were watching was actually being streamed live—just a few floors above them.”

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West Orange and Essex County residents may recognize Marley Dias’ name. Her inspiring quest to inspiring quest to collect and donate books that feature black female lead characters – a movement that she's dubbed #1000BlackGirlBooks – has landed the teenager on national television, scored her an interview with Hillary Clinton and earned an international book deal with one of the largest publishing houses in the world.

Recently, the young activist added another notch to her belt: a place on the 2018 Forbes "30 Under 30" list.

• See related article: Here's How #BlackGirlBooks Made This New Jersey Teen Famous

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Photo 1: Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama discusses her forthcoming memoir titled, Becoming, during the 2018 American Library Association Annual Conference on June 22, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Photo 2: Oprah Winfrey poses in the press room with the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)