CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — A senior attending Clarksville High School got the surprise of a lifetime on Tuesday when she learned she'd be going to college for free.
For the first time ever, the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana decided to forgo emails and instead surprise the winners of their prestigious scholarship in-person.
A lot of planning and coordinating went into surprising Alyssa Leezer with the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship.
Alyssa and several of her teammates on the girls' basketball team all gathered outside the gym for a "team meeting", only to walk into a gym where she saw her mother, several administrators and a giant check.
Once Alyssa realized what she had won, she broke down in tears and immediately hugged her mother before walking toward the giant check with her name on it.
"It was literally just so much emotion," Alyssa said. "I just wanted to sit there and take in the moment because I was so excited."
The CFSI awards just four Lilly Scholarships each year to graduating seniors. Two of this year's recipients live in Clark County and two in Floyd County.
The prestigious scholarship covers full tuition to any public or private college in Indiana, plus an allocation of up to $900 per year to cover books and other materials, according to a Clarksville Community Schools press release.
"Part of me was so caught up in the [prestige] of it that I forgot – it really does take such a financial relief off of me and my family," Alyssa said.
The Lilly Scholarship winner said she is keeping her options open when it comes to where she will attend college, but Indiana University – Bloomington is in the running.
Alyssa said she hopes to foster her love of basketball in college by studying sports management. She's considering getting a Master's degree in sports analytics and becoming a sports data analyst.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.