Campus Connection

The crowd roared as Alex Parsons, ’15, walked out into the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Even though the cheers weren’t for the UWL graduate student — but rather the Clemson football team — that’s when the magnitude of the day hit Parsons. He was there for a chance to win a $100,000 scholarship. “It was awesome to soak it all in,” says Parsons. He was a finalist in the annual Dr. Pepper Tuition Challenge — that meant Parsons was 30 perfect throws away from paying off his grad school tuition and student loans. To win the scholarship, he had to throw more footballs inside a giant Dr. Pepper can than his competitor in 30 seconds. To prepare, Parsons practiced for 45 minutes, three times a week by throwing footballs at a hanging hula-hoop. “I figured 18 in the can would be the winning number,” says Parsons. “I was right, but it wasn’t me who got there.” As a consolation, Parsons flew home with a giant check for $20,000 which he’ll use to pay for graduate school. “It would have been one thing to see the opportunity and just look at it, but applying for it meant I had a chance,” he says. “Students should be applying for everything. If you put your mind to it, you can do it; you can achieve anything.” In addition to the money, Parsons was also given a platform to promote a passion of his. He chose physical education for everyone. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/embed/dQsCRmo2dyo[/embed] “My dad inspired me to be active and my whole family is pretty outdoorsy,” he says. “I want to share their experiences.” Those experiences, he says, taught him good character, commitment and a value of physical activity. That’s why it’s his goal to one day run his own challenge course and advocate SP (adventure) program to ensure everyone gets the opportunities he has. “The sky’s the limit for me,” he says. Scholarships just like this and many more can be easily found through UWL's new scholarship database.