Student wins $50k for school in Facebook contest

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH) -- It was a big day at New Britain High School Tuesday. They got a bunch of brand new technology and a visit from a Hollywood star.

A student there won a contest for a $50,000 boost to the math and science departments.

The Emmy award winning actress is Mayhim Bialik, who stars on the CBS show, the "Big Bang Theory."

She's not just an actress though. She's got a PHD in neuroscience.

She also works for Texas Instruments and Tuesday she dropped off $50,000 worth of high end calculators and other equipment.

New Britain senior Nick Lombardo won it in a Texas Instruments Facebook contest.

"I was on Facebook one day, and I liked the TI fan page, and they posted something saying the 'take me back to school contest.' So I was like lets see what this is," Lombardo said.

He wrote a one page essay on why his school could use all that equipment.

And he won.

"I get called into the principal's office last Thursday, I was in the middle of a chemistry lab, so I had my apron on, I had my goggles on, and I'm in the middle of the principal's office. I'm scared," said Lombardo.

"I read a bunch of the essays, and Nick's really spoke to me, not just because it was a public school which is just something close to my heart, but because of the way he spoke about wanting this opportunity for students who come after him, cause he's almost out of here, but this technology will be here for years and years and years," said Bialik.

Lombardo is off to college next year, he's hoping for MIT or Yale.

He says he's thrilled by the mark he will have left behind.

"I'm happy. To actually leave a lasting mark on the school, so I know that I did make a difference so maybe more people, at least one person, would become more interested in math and science," said Lombardo. "So we have one more mathematician or scientist."