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Justin Bieber gave a South Jersey college student $100,000 for her work on mental-health awareness

Bieber wanted to lend a hand to someone involved in the mental health field — a role that Julie Coker fits thanks to her work with Active Minds.

Justin Bieber presents Stockton University student Julie Coker with a $100,000 check.
Justin Bieber presents Stockton University student Julie Coker with a $100,000 check.Read moreStockton University (custom credit)

A New Jersey college student is $100,000 richer thanks to pop star Justin Bieber, who recently surprised her with a giant check live on MTV in honor of her work on mental-health awareness.

Stockton University senior Julie Coker, 22, received Bieber’s donation Friday, when she appeared alongside the “Yummy” hitmaker on MTV’s Fresh Out. Bieber wanted to lend a hand to someone involved in the mental-health field — a role that Coker fits thanks to her work with Active Minds, a mental-health awareness and education nonprofit, Stockton said in a news release.

“I’m still in shock,” Coker said in the statement. “The check is in my room at home, but I still feel like it almost didn’t happen.”

Coker, of Union Beach, N.J., serves as the president of Stockton’s chapter of the group and also works on the national Active Minds Student Advisory Committee. The group’s Stockton chapter has grown to host about 50 events per year under Coker’s leadership.

She also happens to be a big Justin Bieber fan, having seen the singer as her first-ever live concert experience when she was 13.

Coker is on track to graduate from Stockton with a degree in social work in May. She plans to continue her education in graduate school, using some of the money from Bieber’s gift to pay tuition.

“This life-changing gift will help me start my career on the strongest financial footing possible and will enable me to help even more people,” Coker said. “I’m so grateful to Justin Bieber for helping me forward on that path."

In addition to the $100,000 gift, Coker was also able to meet with Bieber and his wife, Hailey Baldwin, backstage at MTV in New York on Friday. She’ll also be getting tickets to one of the singer’s performances.