Samantha Garvey gets $50G scholarship on 'Ellen'

Samantha Garvey -- the celebrated Brentwood High School teen and Intel semifinalist who has been living with her family in a Bay Shore homeless shelter -- was presented with a $50,000 scholarship at a taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" Wednesday.

In a statement issued Wednesday night, the show said that Garvey could use the scholarship at the school of her choice.

"I know you want to continue your education. You want to go to either Yale or Brown University," host Ellen DeGeneres said during the show, which will air locally Thursday.

"Well, we wanted to help you with that. So our friends at AT&T heard about your story and because of their commitment to the 'Aspire' program to education, they want to help you achieve your dreams. So they are going to give you a $50,000 scholarship to go to the school of your choice."

DeGeneres also said, "You are an inspiration to me and I hope to anyone else out there watching that is having a hard time or even people that are not having a hard time complaining about petty things that are going on in their lives. They look at you and look at how you conduct yourself."

The show also gave Garvey and her family, who were seated in the audience, gift cards to Whole Foods and J.C. Penney.

The show will air Thursday on WNBC/4 at 4 p.m.