To enroll in Oprah Winfrey’s class, Kellogg students have to use more than half of their allotted “class points” for the year. To actually enter the James L. Allen Center classroom, they have to get past four security guards with wires hanging from their ears.
But the students say the class is worth it.
“This is just one of those classes,” said Shie Saito, a second-year Kellogg student. “Her words have some kind of impact.”
Winfrey co-teaches the Dynamics of Leadership class with her longtime boyfriend Stedman Graham.
Winfrey and Graham taught the class last year under much of the same security, media scrutiny and student interest.
As part of the security, students are told not to talk to the media about the content of the class.
Unlike the undergraduate enrollment process, students in the Kellogg Graduate School of Management receive 3,000 points per class year to use for enrollment. Winfrey’s class requires 1,705 points to get in.
Kim Sladkin, a second-year Kellogg student, gave up most of her class points to get into Dynamics of Leadership.
“It’s going to be really interesting,” Sladkin said.
Richard Honack, assistant dean of Kellogg external relations, said the 110-person class is one of the most competitive to register for in all of Kellogg.
“It’s just as competitive as last year,” Honack said.
James Lynch, a second-year Kellogg student, took the class after a Winfrey student from last year recommended it.
“He said it is the one class that had a real impact,” Lynch said.
Lynch also described the similarity between Winfrey the television star and Winfrey the teacher.
“She is strikingly similar to television,” he said. “She asks the same type of penetrating questions. She also seems to be really listening.”
Jennifer Stansbury, a second-year Kellogg student, said she had other reasons for taking the class besides its obvious appeal.
“There is a lot of focus on personal development,” Stansbury said. “She just really stands up for what she believes in.”