Dillard University News January 3, 2014 Dillard University student to compete for $100,000 tuition prize during AT&T Cotton Bowl Ne'tra Trotter has done the math. The Dillard University senior built a replica goal, PVC piping, cement, bucket and all, in order to practice throwing footballs. It might win her $100,000 in tuition from Dr. Pepper. The New Orleans native will need to beat out another college student by throwing footballs into a two-foot hole inside an oversized replica Dr. Pepper can during halftime of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic Friday in Arlington, Texas. Trotter, a physics major, calculated the amount of time it would take her to pick up a football and throw it in the goal as "accurate and as fast as possible." Her average is about eight makes for every 10 footballs. "I came up with a technique for throwing the ball," Trotter said. Trotter became a finalist for the Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway by submitting an online video entry explaining why she deserved to win college tuition. Besides paying off college debt, if she wins the $100,000 grand prize, Trotter wants to start a non-profit for disadvantaged young women interested in science. At a young age, Trotter herself faced challenges in a male-dominated science sphere. In her senior year of high school, her physics teacher didn't want her in a group project with a bunch of boys. Even in college, she said while "it can be intimidating" being the only female physics major in most of her classes, she uses the adversity to "boost her confidence." And, Trotter has already started doing speaking engagements for the non-profit. "I really want to use this as a platform, to pay it forward to the community," she said. Even she doesn't win, Trotter will receive $20,000 in tuition money as a runner-up. She joked that there might be a slight margin of error with her football throwing calculations. It might take her longer to bend down and pick up a football Friday. "I kind of haven't calculated it just yet," Trotter said. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.