Valerie Gokturk, an English teacher at Port Washington's Schreiber High School, own the New York State Lotto Jackpot of $2 million last Friday.

The win came as a surprise to Gokturk. She was teaching her third period journalism class when she got the phone call that changed her life. The secretary in the main office told her that there was a van full of balloons for her outside the school.

Bewildered, Gokturk left her class with her teaching assistant in charge and was met in the hallway by James Malone, better known as the "Lotto Guy," carrying scores of balloons and holding a check. Gokturk hardly remembered the lottery ticket she had bought spontaneously the previous week. "Tears came to my eyes when I found out," Gokturk said in a phone interview yesterday. "I felt like I was dreaming."

Gokturk, a 1987 Schreiber graduate and a first year Schreiber teacher, says she is unsure what she will do with the money: "I'm still in shock � I haven't processes the fact that I am now a millionaire," she said and added with a laugh, "The first thing I will do is throw a pizza party for my students. After that, it's back to normal in the classroom."

Almost normal, that is. Her students � especially the twenty-two that witnessed the event � will never look at Gokturk in the same light. They were reportedly as thrilled as their teacher: "They asked so many questions," assistant Carol Leone said. "They were so excited!"

Gokturk says she will put some of her winnings toward her educational costs and hopes to travel more. Additionally, she plans to donate "a good portion" to charity, although she did not name a specific organization or cause. As for her career, Gokturk was confident that she would continue to teach.