Competition for scholarships can be fierce — especially when it's for a year of free tuition valued at more than $17,000. But for 17-year-old Sam LaCroix, a senior at Lake Travis High School in Central Texas, there were no lengthy applications or nightmare-inducing essays. Instead, it all came down to his creativity and imagination, which helped him earn the top prize in the first St. Edward's University Learn to Think Student Ad Contest.

Last fall, St. Edward's launched the contest as a fun way to inform college-bound high school students about the university and to offer them the chance to experience St. Edward's for free. To enter, students designed an original concept for the university's award-winning ad campaign, playfully contrasting real-world situations and actual university course titles.

LaCroix's first-prize winning entry, "Desktop Publishing," was chosen out of 97 entries, more than half of which came from beyond Central Texas — some as far away as New York. LaCroix learned he was the winner during a surprise presentation at his school. Believing he had won a t-shirt in a theater class prize drawing, he was called to the stage where the curtains opened to reveal the Student Ad Contest prize patrol and a much bigger prize.

"By cleverly juxtaposing one of our course titles with an unexpected image, your ad reveals the unique, thoughtful nature of the St. Edward's educational philosophy," said Tracy Manier, dean of Undergraduate Admission. "Your entry demonstrates that you are a perfect match for St. Edward's, and I look forward to your future contributions to our student body."

Elektra Yao, a student at Talent Unlimited High School in New York City, won a Dell™ Latitude™ D600 Notebook computer for her second-place prize-winning entry "Feminist Perspectives — Social Change."

Houston resident Linda Pham, a senior at St. Pius X High School, earned third place and an Apple® iPod for her playful treatment of a "Genetics" course title.

Judges were so impressed by the entries that numerous honorable mentions also were awarded. A first for the university, the Student Ad contest generated more than 13,000 visitors to the contest webpage.

Originally launched in September 2001, the St. Edward's image ads have produced significant increases in university awareness. The ads also contributed to the university's recent national recognition in the top tier of the best colleges in America by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, the ads have garnered several awards, including a Gold Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education's Circle of Excellence Awards, the national awards for advertising in higher education circles, and Best in Show and Gold from the Admission Marketing Report.