$50K Christmas Day Drawing Nets Rockville Woman Medical School Money

ROCKVILLE, MD — A Rockville woman who hopes to attend medical school one day and study pediatric medicine won a $50,000 third-tier prize from the Maryland Lottery's Christmas Day Powerball drawing.

The Powerball player, whose short-term plan is to put her winnings into savings, earned an undergraduate degree in health sciences. The money will come in handy in the coming months as she applies to medical schools.

Usually, the Rockville woman buys $1 instant tickets along with the occasional $5 game. However, when she noticed that the Powerball jackpot had swelled to more than $600 million, she decided to take a chance and buy the ticket from Safeway #1668, located at 5510 Norbeck Road in Rockville.

The Powerball winner recently visited Maryland Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim her prize. She was accompanied by her mother, who is a Montgomery County resident.

“We’re still in shock," the mother said, adding that it was the winner's father who first introduced her to playing the lottery.

“We’re planning to stop at Dunkin’ Donuts, go home and put my feet up," the winner's mother said, when asked how they planned to celebrate the big win.