An Omaha eighth-grader made headlines this week when UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman offered the 13-year-old a four-year scholarship to the university during a school assembly.

Perlman, flanked by red UNL banners and accompanied by Lil Red in the gymnasium of Mary Our Queen Catholic School on Nov. 18, surprised Joshua Gromowsky with the offer.

“Certainly Joshua represents the very best, and so I’m very pleased to announce that we will agree with Joshua that, if he comes to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he will have a full tuition scholarship for four years,” Perlman told the assembly.

Last year, Gromowsky was one of 33 seventh-graders in the United States to ace one or more sections of the ACT or SAT. His parents both attended UNL.

Several media outlets covered the impromptu announcement by the chancellor, including KETV, WOWT and KMTV as well as the Omaha World-Herald. The story also appeared on The Associated Press wire and appeared in dozens of outlets around the nation.