NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Nyasha Biggs, 17, wasn't sure what to expect when she and the rest of her high school class were flown to Los Angeles to appear on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show."

"I knew she was going to give us something, but I wasn't sure what it would be," Biggs told CNN.

The big surprise? A full ride to college.

Biggs and the other 41 students from her senior class at the Summit Academy charter school in Brooklyn received four-year scholarships that will cover costs at any state university in New York.

The prize was the single biggest gift in the show's history.

"We've never done anything this big before," DeGeneres told the class and school administrators Cheryl Swift and Natasha Campbell, who all went to Los Angeles for the show's taping. "We reached out to the people at Walmart and they want to give each one of you a four year scholarship."

The segment aired on "Ellen" last Wednesday.

The class erupted into screams and cheers after the announcement. Some told DeGeneres "thank you" and ran to hug her with tears streaming down their faces.

"I just froze when she said she was giving us the scholarship," Biggs later told CNN. "I was extremely excited and shocked."

The scholarships, worth $1.6 million total, were sponsored by Walmart, said "Ellen" spokeswoman Melissa Little-Padgitt.

Walmart and DeGeneres had already given the school a $25,000 gift, which was announced earlier this month on the talk show.

While DeGeneres has not visited Summit Academy, members of the "Ellen" team went to the school and also held a video call with the senior class, Campbell said.

Little-Padgitt said the donation from Walmart will cover state university costs for each student as long as the student is enrolled.

Summit Academy is based in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood. Campbell told DeGeneres during her first appearance on the show this month that 4% of the neighborhood's adults hold a college degree, while about 28% of children under 16 live in poverty.

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