Winning a trip to Europe sounds like a dream way too good to be true. For sophomore Victoria Veneziano, that dream became reality when her name was called during this year’s THON raffle giveaway.

The THON raffle is a series of sales that takes place both prior to and throughout THON weekend. Students can purchase tickets in order to win some pretty incredible prizes, such as gift cards, massages, and Penn State-themed gift baskets. All funds from the raffle go directly to THON, and ticket purchases can also be credited to any student organization that fundraises for the event.

The tour will take students on visits to London, Paris, and Rome. “It includes guided tours in each city, a two-day museum pass in Paris, and four specialty dinners,” Veneziano described. “Other than that, students are free to explore on their own.”

Veneziano filled out the five-dollar raffle tickets through her sorority Alpha Chi Omega with money she raised over winter break. She couldn’t believe her luck when she heard her name announced as the recipient of one of this year’s biggest THON Raffle prizes.

“I was shocked when I won,” she said. “I was not expecting my name to be called whatsoever. I had filled out the raffle tickets over a month prior to THON, so I had completely forgotten I was even in the running.”

The trip is scheduled for May of this year, however Veneziano wants to try to switch her own trip to 2018 so she can go post-graduation.

The trip was donated by the Penn State Alumni Association and will include free guided tours, meals provided during the guided tours, and airfare for Veneziano. However, recipients of the prize are encouraged to bring friends with them, which Veneziano hopes to do.

Veneziano has been to Europe once before, but said it was when she was much too young to remember the majority of the trip. She’s looking forward to a trip that she will likely never forget.

“I’m still shocked that I won,” she said. “I can’t wait to actually go on this incredible trip.”