When the Austin Chamber of Commerce was looking for candidates to compete in their college prep contest, senior and student body president, Madison Smith stood out. The contest stated that whatever school could get the most retweets and Facebook likes on a tweet advertising the chamber’s college ready program would be eligible to win 10 free passes to Weekend two of ACL.

Smith used the assistance of her friends, teachers and classmates to get the word out. When the contest ended, she had over 120 retweets and 40 likes on Facebook.

“It was very stressful to have to constantly bombard people for retweets. But at the same time, it was really exciting when I saw that I was winning. I only had one real competitor and because the contest was on social media, I could check up on how he was doing and gauge what I needed to do,” Smith said.

Through the chamber of commerce’s collaboration with C3 (ACL’s production company), Smith and the presidents of several other central Texas schools were granted a backstage tour of the festival. On the tour she got to meet several of ACL’s key producers and managers, walk-on one of the main stages and see the backstage efforts that go into the festival. At the end of the tour, the winners of the contest were announced.

“And the winner is Vandegrift High School’s Madison Smith,” said the commerce employee as Madison received the surprise of a life time. Smith was awarded with the 10 tickets and recognition by the commerce for supporting their cause.

“I was honestly so shocked!” said Smith. “Before, winning those tickets, I had never won anything in my life. I knew that I had a really high chance of winning, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. When they said my name I was beyond excited.”

Smith distributed the tickets among friends and people who helped get the word out. She also awarded one ticket to Mrs. Harrelson, the faculty sponsor of Student Council.

“I still can’t believe I won. The whole experience was just very exciting. It made me really happy to see the reactions on everyone’s faces when I handed them their free tickets. And ACL was a great experience overall. It almost made it more fun knowing that the tickets were free,” said Smith.

To learn more about the Austin Chamber of Commerce and the college program that Smith advertised through her social media, visit austinchamber.com/education-talent/college-ready-now/financial-aid-saturdays.php.