Christopher Curry, a freshman general engineering major at Texas A&M University, won $100,000 in tuition money during the Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway at halftime of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s (ACC) championship game on Saturday (Dec. 3).
Curry, a graduate of Waco Midway High School, won the tuition assistance during an on-field competition where contestants had to throw footballs into a giant Dr Pepper can.
To be eligible for the competition, Curry first had to detail how he would change the world in 350 characters or less and encourage friends and family to vote for him. Once he had 50 votes he was required to submit a video.
In his video, Curry claimed he was the long lost son of Dr Pepper’s crazy concessionaire character, Larry Culpepper, and detailed what he would do if he were to win the $100,000 prize.
“I’d use it to pay for my engineering education so that one day I can design innovate and bring modern technology and plenty of ice-cold Dr Pepper to underdeveloped countries worldwide,” Curry said in the video. “With my degree, I will develop an engineering firm with a focus on philanthropy utilizing scientific advancements to improve quality of life in the global arena.”
The video also included a robot that Curry, who wants to major in mechanical engineering, built and coded so that it would bring him a can of Dr Pepper.
From the video entries, Dr Pepper picked 16 finalists who then competed at one of four conference championship games — ACC, Big 12, Southeastern Conference (SEC) or Big Ten.
Over the past eight years, Dr Pepper has awarded more than $8 million in tuition money, helping students across the nation achieve their dreams.