Hampden student places 3rd in national scholarship competition By Jodi Hersey edge staff writer jhersey@themaineedge.com HAMPDEN - 20-year-old Lindsay Beauregard is a winner. We first told you about this Hampden resident's quest to win a $10,000 Inspiring Experts scholarship in our Dec. 28 issue. And although the Bentley University sophomore didn't win the grand prize, she did come in third, a respectable finish that earned her a $2,000 scholarship and an Apple iPad2. "It's exciting. If I finished 2, 3, 4 or 5 I knew I'd be getting $2,000 and an iPad2," said Beauregard. "But I really did want to win the $10,000 for school since I'm paying for my own education." In November, Beauregard submitted a three-minute video to Randstad, the HR company hosting the scholarship. In the video, she explained why she was excited about being an information design and corporate communication (IDCC) major at Bentley and what she planned to do after graduation. All applicants were then responsible for spreading the word and getting people to vote for their video as many times as possible leading up to the Jan. 1, 2012 deadline. The applicant with the most votes would then win. "This was the first time Randstad ran this type of [social media] scholarship contest," explained Beauregard. "For me, it just got to be really overwhelming. I felt like I was intruding on people by reminding them to vote for me every day." But that's not how Beauregard's family, friends and community viewed it. They saw her scholarship run as a chance to support and help one of their own with college. Many have even admitted now that the competition is over, they miss their daily routine of logging online to vote for her. "I really appreciated it. I'm so thankful for all the support and networking," said Beauregard. "I know I would never have gotten an iPad2 if it weren't for this contest. It's not something I would've bought for myself." When she returns to campus this week, Beauregard will get to enjoy a $2,000 discount in her tuition thanks to the Randstad scholarship check that her supporters helped her win. She is also looking forward to putting that iPad2 to use. "Yeah, it's just there waiting for me. I can't wait to go to the post office when I get back," said Beauregard.