An African monarch with a special connection to a small Ohio university will visit to give the school's commencement speech.

The Springfield News-Sun reports Lesotho's King Letsie III will travel to Springfield to speak at Wittenberg University Saturday.

Wittenberg history professor Scott Rosenberg has taken hundreds of students on service trips to the nation since his first visit as a Peace Corps Volunteer over two decades ago.

Rosenberg's efforts inspired a student-run organization called the Lesotho Nutrition Initiative that sends meals to children. The program has sent over 600,000 meals since 2015.

Student Maddy O'Malley says the graduating class is "interconnected" with the mountain kingdom.

The king will speak with students at a barbecue Friday night. He will attend a Springfield Rotary Club luncheon on Monday before returning to Lesotho.

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Information from: Springfield News-Sun, http://www.springfieldnewssun.com