Students at Overbrook High School in The School District of Philadelphia received the surprise of a lifetime. Once gathered by faculty and staff, Academy Award winner Will Smith entered and sent the unsuspecting students into hysterics.
Smith, who attended the high school in the late 80s, was happy to meet the adoring young fans. “What an amazing surprise! Today, @willsmith made a surprise visit back to Overbook High School. More pics and news to come!” the school’s official Instagram account wrote in a post. The message included a clip of “The Fresh Prince” proudly walking through the hallways before entering a classroom full of computers. “Wow, wow,” he said as a photographer and videographer walked with him.
The high school’s official Facebook page shared more footage of the special day. “Digital Media students at Overbrook High got quite a surprise today when Philly native and Overbrook alum Will Smith visited their class! Thanks for everything, Will!” the post said. It included photos of the “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” artist speaking to the pupils. He also took time to take a few selfies with the excited bunch. The Facebook post garnered over 1,000 likes and more than 100 comments. “When I was a junior at Overbrook, Will Smith came and selected 10 students to go to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela and become 46664 Ambassadors! I was one of them! All of us are now change agents in our communities! It was truly an amazing experience. Thank you, Will Smith!!!” one person wrote on the social networking site.
Another user who said she taught at a nearby school wrote that her community was “proud to be affiliated with Will Smith in even the most incremental way.” She added, “I’m so glad he continues to recognize and honor the community which gave him his foundation.” His visit may even cause perfect attendance to become a trend. “Will Smith was at my school the day I didn’t come to campus,” one person tweeted with a series of crying emojis. According to local news station ABC 6, Smith took a look at his old yearbook and spoke with Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington during his time at his alma mater.
See related posts below.