Luke Roberts ’12, mechanical engineering, entered the YOBISing contest “on a whim” in the first season, submitting “Turn Me Around,” a song he wrote in high school when he was first learning to play the piano. With his friends’ help, Roberts sent e-mails to family, friends and community listservs, hung banners and passed out fliers at school and even made T-shirts for people to wear asking for votes. He advanced to the semi-finals, then the finals, in which contestants with the lowest votes were eliminated over the course of seven weeks until only Roberts remained as the winner. He plans to use his $18,000 in prize money to help pay off student loans and get some new band equipment, such as a new keyboard.
The article, “UMBC student musician wins online contest,” ran June 23 in the Catonsville Times.
umbcinsightsweekly.wordpress.com 