Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

We’ve all received emails claiming that we’ve won an amazing prize, but when Conner Tadlock got an email saying he was the grand prize winner of the U.S. Bank Student Scholarship program, he didn’t send it to his spam folder.

“I kind of didn’t believe it at first,” Tadlock said. “I immediately checked online to make sure everything matched up, then I very quickly called my parents to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

Tadlock, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, received $20,000 as the grand prize winner in the U.S. Bank scholarship sweepstakes.

“My parents were probably just as excited as I was if not a little more,” he said.

In order to be entered into the sweepstakes, students complete gamified, in-app financial education lessons that can be accessed in a web-based format. Students can also win gift cards for completing challenges and, during 2024, nearly $40,000 was dispersed in incentives. Tadlock’s scholarship was one of seven, totaling $55,000, that were awarded during 2024.

“The money will go straight toward funding my tuition so I can keep focusing on my studies,” said Tadlock, who is majoring in mechanical engineering with minors in mathematics and entrepreneurship.

Tadlock qualified for the grand prize drawing by completing 150 of the financial education modules, which generally take one or two minutes each to finish.

“There were a lot of different topics,” he said. “I tried to challenge myself and branch out into things I hadn’t learned as much about.”

Dallas Luckenbill, who won a $5,000 prize, said he completed more than 100 of the modules.

“I found them to be highly useful,” he said. “It definitely covered basic information but it was useful basic information.”

Luckenbill is a freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln studying emerging media arts.

“My father found out about the scholarship sweepstakes. He wanted to support me,” Luckenbill said. “It was definitely exciting to win $5,000. Any amount helps.”

The U.S. Bank Student Scholarship Program has been running for more than 12 years. The 2025 scholarship will launch Feb. 1 and details will be available on the U.S. Bank Student Scholarship Program website at that time.

U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank

About U.S. Bank
U.S. Bancorp, with approximately 70,000 employees and $601 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. The Minneapolis-based company serves millions of customers locally, nationally and globally through a diversified mix of businesses: Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; Corporate & Commercial Banking; and Wealth Management and Investment Services. The company has been recognized for its approach to digital innovation, social responsibility, and customer service, including being named one of the 2022 World’s Most Ethical Companies and Fortune’s most admired superregional bank. Learn more at usbank.com/about.

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