All that practice of stuffing a coherent message using 140 characters or less finally paid off—at $142 per character to be exact.
Louisville-based KFC announced a few weeks ago that it was offering a scholarship for the person who could state why they were deserving of the Colonel’s Scholars scholarship in just a single tweet—this includes explaining how the applicant plans to enrich their communities and how they exemplify Colonel Sanders’ commitment to education.
Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation oversees the KFC Colonel’s Scholars program. While the foundation awards more than 75 college scholarships each year, this scholarship is the first to be awarded based on a single tweet.
In order to be considered all applicants had to follow KFC on Twitter (@KFC_Colonel) and then submit their tweet using the hashtag #KFCScholar.
All tweets were judged on creativity and quality. Only one entry per twitter account was accepted.
Some real example tweets from contestants included the following:
“#KFCscholar. College is expensive. W/o help, I can’t afford more chicken! I want to make it big, rockin’ my dreams @ U of Kentucky! Help me! ”
“My mind is constantly creating things my body and knowledge aren’t capable of. I want to have the power to create and discover. #kfcscholar”
“Im just 1 in a Million, bt can i be that 1 chicken leg in that bucket, plz #KFCScholar, Student loans r gona eat me, LiKE i eat ur chicken”
“#KFCScholar. We’re molded throughout elementary and secondary schooling. College is where we learn to become exceptional & educated citizens”
On December 1st, KFC announced the winner! A California high school senior turned a single tweet into a college scholarship.
The Twitter entry from 17-year-old Amanda Russell was selected from more than 2,800 tweets that competed for the scholarship offered by a foundation for the Louisville-based KFC restaurant chain.
Russell reached the 140 character limit for the contest, so she’ll get $142 per character to pursue her college dreams.
The winning tweet refers to the chain’s late founder Colonel Harland Sanders and says:
“Hey Colonel! Your scholarship’s the secret ingredient missing from my recipe for success! Got the grades, drive, just need cash!”
Russell has compiled a 3.9 grade point average at her Long Beach high school. She says she plans to major in biology and pursue a career as a doctor or medical researcher.
Look for these scholarship gems and you too could net some cold, hard college cash!
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This guest post is contributed by Kate Willson, who writes on the topics of best online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email: katewillson2@gmail.com.