A young student from Brooke County is celebrating a big win and a brighter future.
Kyler Tamburin, a fourth-grader at Brooke Intermediate North who will be heading to Brooke Middle School this fall, was recently selected as the winner of the SMART529 “Fund the Future” sweepstakes. The prize? A $15,000 contribution toward his college education.
“I was really, really excited when I found out,” Kyler said, beaming about the surprise. He was chosen from more than 7,200 entries submitted by youth across West Virginia.
A Boost Toward His Dreams
The $15,000 prize will be deposited into a SMART529 college savings account and will be waiting for Kyler when he heads off to college. Right now, his dream is to attend Penn State University, where he hopes to study engineering—and play football.
In recognition of his win, West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack visited Wellsburg on Wednesday to congratulate Kyler in person and present a large ceremonial check. Kyler is already thinking about where to hang the check in his room.
His mother, Erica Tamburin, expressed both gratitude and excitement. She said they discovered the sweepstakes through a social media post shared by a school counselor and were impressed by how easy it was to enter.
“It was really simple to do,” she said.
Encouraging Families to Plan for College
Treasurer Pack highlighted that the SMART529 program was created years ago by the West Virginia Legislature to encourage families to start saving early for higher education. In addition to the sweepstakes, SMART529 also hosts an annual essay contest to promote student engagement.
“Fund the Future” is now in its second year. The sweepstakes winner is selected through a random drawing.
“Thousands applied, and we basically pulled a name from a hat,” Pack said. “My office is happy to award Kyler and his family this money. As a father of six, I understand how important it is to save for college.”
He added, “My hope is that our children will become the future leaders of our state. I want to congratulate Kyler and thank all the West Virginia students who took part this year.”
Easy Entry, Big Reward
To be eligible for the sweepstakes, participants must be 17 years old or younger and live in West Virginia with a parent or legal guardian. Each child may enter once, though families with multiple children can submit separate entries for each.
Thanks to this lucky break, Kyler now has a big step forward in achieving his academic goals—and maybe even scoring a touchdown or two at Penn State someday.
