Lone Star College-Tomball student Eduardo Zavala recently won $7,500 in tuition money from the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway.

Zavala had to compete in two separate events (social networking and online video) before making it to the preliminary round of the final event, the football passing competition.  In the social networking event, students (ages 18-24) posted a brief story about themselves on the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway website and then promoted that story through their social networks.  Students whose story received at least 50 votes were then invited to submit a 60-second video to the website sharing their story and explaining why they deserved to win.  Dr. Pepper judges then selected 20 contestants with the most compelling videos to compete for a chance to win a $100,000 tuition grand prize in a passing competition at one of the four participating conference championship games (Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-12 Conference, Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference).

While Zavala did not make it past the December 6 passing preliminary, his inspiring story and engaging video “My Wish Is to Help Others with My Education”(http://www.drpeppertuition.com/finalists/sec) made him a winner nonetheless, not to mention his winning attitude.

“I'm happy because I'm healthy. But as a Spanish medical interpreter, I have had the opportunity to work with many patients that do not share the same blessing. This has inspired me without a doubt to pursue a career in health care, specifically in the field of genetics. I imagine a world where everybody has their five senses as intended,” he said in his story.

All totaled, throughout the 2013 college football season, Dr. Pepper is giving away more than $1 million in college tuition to help students achieve their personal and academic goals by reducing or removing the financial burden of college tuition.

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Lone Star College System has been opening doors to a better community for 40 years. Founded in 1973, LSCS remains steadfast in its commitment to student success and credential completion. Today, with 78,000 students in credit classes, and a total enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and the fastest-growing community college system in the nation. Dr. Richard Carpenter is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of six colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball and LSC-University Park, five centers, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.