Yes, you heard it right….one of East Cobb’s own needs your help to win a $10,000 scholarship for college! Ashton Cordisco, a 2020 Wheeler High School graduate, is a finalist in the DuckTape’s “Stuck At Prom” Scholarship Contest, in which high school students compete to make the best possible prom wear out of duct tape.
The competition began in 2001, according to the Duck Tape website, but the rules of the contest changed recently. While competitors used to have to get their dates to make a duct-tape outfit as well, and could only enter as pairs, the competition now has two categories, “dress” and “tux.” Competitors can now enter on their own, and the grand prize winner in each category takes home $10,000. There are also four runner-up winners in both the dress and tux categories, who will each win $500 and a Prize Pack worth $100.
He was announced as a finalist a few days ago and has now entered into the “Community Voting Period” where you can help him to be the winner for his entry in the “Tux Category”. There are only 5 finalists in the Tux and 5 in the Dress category for the entire country. He designed and created an entire tuxedo made EXCLUSIVELY out of duct tape! Ashton used 27 rolls of Duck Tape and it took him 80 hours to make his tuxedo.
He will be attending SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) this Fall pursuing a degree in Design. If he wins this contest it will help offset his tuition. “I have spent the last couple of years entering various scholarship contests, working hard on my grades, and saving money, this scholarship has been the most fun and challenging for sure! It was hard, sometimes very frustrating and tedious, but I kept pushing not to compromise the vision I had, and I am so glad I did.”
Ashton mentions his elementary school art teacher, Mrs. Casey, who was hired on as one of Wheeler’s Art teachers this year, his senior year, as the person who told him about the contest, challenged him, and has always encouraged him to follow his passion. “For my tuxedo, I wanted to use as many colors as possible and create my own piece of wearable modern art. I used all deceased Masterpiece Artists as my inspiration because I wanted my creation to be classy, fun, and unique while paying respect to the great artists who have influenced so many!”
The voting period is open NOW thru July 10th . The person with the most votes in each category will be officially declared the winner later in July. Anyone can vote and we hope you will vote daily!! To vote for Ashton, click HERE, then hit the VOTE NOW button. Click on Ashton’s picture near the top to “select” him, then click on “Cast Final Vote”. You will then be prompted to enter your name and a valid email address. You can vote once every day per email address through July 10th !
Good luck, Ashton!
