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.
|