California Student Wins $20,000 Scholarship With Tweet

A Long Beach Polytechnic High School student won a $20,000 scholarship with 140 keystrokes in a KFC “tweeting” contest.

Amanda Russell’s winning tweet was: “Hey Colonel! Your scholarship’s the secret ingredient missing from my recipe for success! Got the grades, drive, just need cash!”

The 17-year-old started a Twitter account just to enter the contest and bested more than 2,800 other applicants.

“I am so excited. I just can’t believe it,” she said.

The entries ranged from the lyrical — “If you give a girl a drumstick, she’ll want wings. Give her wings, she’ll get a degree, take flight, and change the world” — to the heartwarming — “1st to go to college in my Family. KFC can be the 1 st to change my future. Being the victorious KFCScholar will feel S-O G-DOUBLE-O-D Good!”

The winning “tweeter,” the daughter of teachers, is considering a medical career. She’s on her school’s swim team, loves to scuba dive and volunteers at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

KFC ist accepting applications for 2011 scholarships through Feb. 9. Seventy-four additional scholarships will be awarded for next year. Visit www.KFC.com or www.KFCscholars.org for more information.