Katy Perry gives a fan who survived the Orlando shooting the surprise of a lifetime

Tony Marrero might have survived the mass shooting at Orlando gay nightclub Pulse, but his road to recovery has been a long one. Here’s hoping this surprise, courtesy of Ellen DeGeneres and Katy Perry, will help make that road feel a little bit easier to travel.

Marrero appears in a new episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, clips from which hit YouTube on Thursday, MTV News reports. After telling the host that Perry’s “Rise” inspired him while he was in the hospital recovering from the wounds he sustained from the June 12 shooting—which took the lives of 49 people, most of them LGBTQ Latinxs and people of color—Tony was stunned to see Perry herself walk out onstage.

“Life isn’t easy, and you need little reliefs through song,” Perry told the Ellen crowd between tears. “I’m happy I could be there, in my own little way, to help you.”

The singer then surprised Marrero again, promising to personally pay for his first year at film school.

Back in August, Marrero appeared on an episode of MTV’s True Life about four survivors of the Orlando shooting and what their lives have been like in the months since the attack. The 30-year-old, who moved to Orlando from Puerto Rico about a year ago, told Fusion that he hoped his story could inspire viewers. “If I can make it through this, you can make it through any situation you’re going through,” he said.