HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS GET THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME ON THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW

ABC

On Thursday, students from the high school senior class of Summit Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, NY appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where they received a surprise gift.  The students opened up to Ellen DeGeneres about what Summit Academy meant to them and how it would affect their future.  One student said, “Coming to Summit, it made my dreams and goals more realistic, coming from a single-parent house.”  Summit Academy is located in a neighborhood where only 4 percent of adults attended college.  The senior class will be the school’s first ever graduating class.

At the end of the show, the entire senior class was overcome by emotion when Ellen announced they would each receive a 4-year college scholarship.  The students cried and laughed, while they embraced each other and buried Ellen in a group hug.

The scholarships, made possible by Walmart, will provide the students with tuition for any state university in New York.  Ellen told the students: "Last time you were here, Walmart wanted to give you $25,000.  We've never done anything this big before, we've reached out to the people at Walmart, and they want to give each one of you a four-year scholarship."  Ellen revealed the entire amount is worth $1.6 million.

Ellen posted on Instagram about the amazing moment:

These students deserve a chance, and thanks to Walmart they’re all getting one. This is almost too unbelievable to be true. Tomorrow.

A post shared by Ellen (@theellenshow) on Feb 22, 2017 at 7:12pm PST

You can watch the full inspiring video below.

Ellen DeGeneres just presented the entire senior class of the Summit Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y. with keys to their future: full four-year college scholarships. The school aims to send every student to college - and last year, 93% of the first graduating class achieved that goal, according to Campbell and Swift.

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