Palatine senior wins $100K scholarship in football toss

While searching through a plethora of college scholarships online in the beginning of December, Erin Rhodes came across an unusual opportunity.

It was a contest called the Dr Pepper Million Dollar Tuition Giveaway. To be considered, students ages 18 and older had to submit a one-minute video about what they want to do in their future.

Rhodes, a senior at Palatine High School, decided to accept the challenge.

"I wanted to try something new," she said, adding that she was happy to create scholarship material that was different from the traditional essay.

In a matter of weeks, Rhodes went from "not expecting anything" to standing on the field at Cowboys Stadium in Texas, where she participated in a football toss against four other finalists and won a $100,000 scholarship.

"I've never experienced anything like it," Rhodes said. "I'm so thankful for the opportunity."

Besides going home with $100,000 from her all-expenses-paid trip, Rhodes also won a TV and was treated to a VIP party and tickets to the Cotton Bowl, where a video of her winning the scholarship was aired in the third quarter.

The football toss, which took place last Thursday, required the finalists, who were chosen based on the videos they submitted, to throw as many footballs as they could through a 2-foot-diameter hole in an inflatable Dr Pepper can within 30 seconds.

For about two weeks before the competition, Rhodes practiced for at least an hour each day in her garage with a replica wooden Dr Pepper can that her father made.

"In the preliminary round, I was just really kind of nervous," Rhodes said, adding that she scored just 10 points but it was enough for her to advance. "The whole day I did a lot of praying. I was just trying to stay calm." In the end, Rhodes competed against Glorie Ndongala, a native of Congo who wants to become a missionary.

"I didn't watch (the football) to see if it went in really," she said. "I knew that once I got into a rhythm I could keep going."

She won the round by scoring 17 points. Ndongala, who scored 15, still went home with $23,000.

"By the final round I knew in my mind that whoever won the money would have deserved it," she said. "I found out that all of them were just such amazing people."

Rhodes said the other three contestants each won $7,500 scholarships.

In the video that made her a finalist, Rhodes explains how she has been inspired by her 12-year-old brother, Matthew, who has Down syndrome, to study special education at Hope College in Holland, Mich., and help children with special needs.

"I feel pretty comfortable (paying for college) right now, and my parents are pretty thrilled," she said. "Now they can help my sister going to college in two years."