Murfreesboro resident Laura Nelson had some unexpected, but very welcome, visitors on Friday, May 15.

Her daughter, Elisabeth, ran to answer the door, but the mother stopped her.

“I was trying to teach my daughter that if we didn’t know who it is, we don’t open the door,” the Vanderbilt grad student said.

But after peeking out the window and seeing the balloons and the prize patrol van parked outside, she knew that good news was at the door. Nelson, who resides on University Street, opened her door and was greeted by a $1,000 prize.

“I thought it was the grand prize, but I won’t turn down the $1,000,” she said. “It was quite a surprise.”

Nelson, who studies 17th Century French Literature, said she would have been pleased just to have someone drop off some champagne and her daughter “was just as excited about the balloons.”

“The whole experience was great,” Nelson said.

But she now has an unexpected $1,000 to add to her bank account and a giant check to keep as a souvenir.

“My friends have always teased me about entering the Publishers Clearing House contests,” Nelson said, adding that she is still in the running for the grand prize.

For more information on Publishers Clearing House or to enter the sweepstakes, visit pch.com.