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Kelly Ripa Wins Scholarship Money for DeSales Student
Katie Gergits ’25 has extra reason to celebrate this holiday season, thanks to a popular talk show host.
Gergits recently took part in a National Society of Leadership and Success speaker broadcast featuring Kelly Ripa. Gergits originally submitted a recorded question for Ripa, but NSLS liked it so much, it asked her to join the Skype broadcast to ask the Live host herself.
“She speaks in front of an audience every day on her talk show. I wanted to know if she had any advice for people who struggle with public speaking.”
The elementary education major admits to being taken aback by Ripa’s answer.
“She said that the students in my classroom are in school to learn from me. So, I shouldn’t be afraid of speaking to them because they want to hear me speak. The people going to her show want to hear her talk, so she’s not afraid. Obviously, we’re not all on a live TV show. But if you go up in front of a group of people, you’re there for a reason.”
After the Q&A, Ripa took a shot at winning Gergits scholarship money by playing a game titled “How Jersey are you?” Ripa walked away with $1,200 in scholarship funds for Gergits.
“It was just a silly game, but it was really cool to watch her play and know that she was trying to win me money,” Gergits says. “It was nice to see someone in her position helping me out. I felt so honored.”