University offers scholarships to Chewbacca mom's family


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LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — A Florida university has offered scholarships to a woman who made the viral Facebook video showing her laughing hysterically as she tries on a Chewbacca mask.

Southeastern University announced Monday that its president presented Candace Payne and her entire family with full tuition scholarships.

President Dr. Kent Ingle says Payne, from Texas, inspired the university with the joy she expressed on her video. He says the school wanted her family to experience some of that joy in return.

Payne has also been presented with various other gifts, including Star Wars toys from Kohl's, where she bought her mask. She also met Chewbacca at Disney World during her visit to Florida earlier this week.

The video has become an internet sensation, garnering millions of views and landing Payne as a guest on several talk and news shows.

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