COD Student from Naperville Competes for $100,000 Scholarship
Kotryna Staputyte is mastering her football throwing technique as she prepares to compete on Friday, Dec. 4, for a $100,000 scholarship through the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway.
The Naperville resident, one of 16 finalists nationally, is traveling to California for the PAC 12 Championship Game. On Dec. 4, she and three other finalists will face off by throwing footballs into a large Dr. Pepper can-shaped receptacle. Two finalists will move on and face the same challenge during half-time at the championship game on Dec. 5. The winner will receive a $100,000 scholarship, and the runner-up will receive $20,000.
The athletic challenge may be the culmination of the giveaway, but the heart of the annual initiative is asking students to briefly state how they want to change the world, which is what attracted Staputyte.
"Anyone could do it, and it's a really cool way to get people thinking and writing about their goals," she said. "Dr. Pepper puts together a whole web site filled with what people wrote, and that's what the giveaway is about."
In her submission, called "Give Every Child a Chance," Staputyte wrote: "My best friend has a developmental disability. I have witnessed him improve his skills drastically since his time in the U.S., due to the medicine he has obtained and the amazing support system and friendships he has developed. I strive to be the first doctor in my family to improve the lives of children worldwide who are impacted by disabilities."
After her submission received more than 50 votes online, she was eligible to make a short video and submit it in hopes of being selected as a finalist. Click here to watch the video, which includes her friend, Dominykas.
"I'm from Lithuania, and on the first day of my senior year in high school, I was asked to work with a boy who just came from Lithuania with special needs and who didn't speak English," she said. "Another Lithuanian senior and I were happy to help. We skipped lunches and hung out with Dominykas, and I would take him to school functions and to movies. I enjoyed our friendship so much that we still get together. Earlier this year, I took him to his winter dance and his Homecoming. He now has a big support system at Naperville Central and is doing so much better.
"The entire experience has inspired me. I was always interested in medicine, but working with him gave me a reason to pursue it as a career."
The video was shot by her friend Matt Miltonberger, who is a fellow College of DuPage student in the Motion Picture/TV program. Another friend in COD's Engineering program, Tom Almassey, is building a facsimile of the Dr. Pepper receptacle can, and COD Head Football Coach Matt Foster is helping Staputyte with her throwing technique.
"It's perfect that I go to the only community college in Illinois with a football team," she said.
Staputyte will travel to California with her mother and is guaranteed a minimum tuition prize of $2,500. She is happy to receive any tuition assistance, which will help when she transfers to DePaul University next fall.
The overwhelming support from the College of DuPage community reinforced to Staputyte why she chose COD. While in high school, she applied to become - and was named - a Presidential Scholar, which includes free tuition for two years at COD for high-achieving students.
"I visited the College quite frequently my senior year of high school. My goal was to get as much information as I could about the best ways to get involved, the best professors to take and the best ways to make COD a home away from home," she said. "Ultimately, I did not choose COD for the reasons most college-bound student choose their colleges and universities. I came to COD with an open mind and a plan to be as involved as possible. Right away, I fell in love with the campus, the classes, professors and the people. I chose to go to COD with no clue of how much it would ultimately give back to me."