“I woke up to 40 missed calls and a bunch of text messages telling me I had won.”

This is what happened to UW-Whitewater sophomore Eric Asbury, who was not at the Oct. 1 Warhawk football game where he was announced the winner of the tuition raffle giveaway. Asbury said he thought his friends were playing a joke on him when he had woken up to the missed calls and text messages.

Asbury, a philosophy major, said winning the tuition raffle meant a lot to him.

“I pay my own way through school,” Asbury said. “Winning the raffle helped me out a lot. Without it, I would be broke right now.”

He was at home sleeping when he was announced the winner of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization sponsored  tuition raffle. He said he bought the ticket online a few minutes before the raffle closed when he saw an email he had received.

“I believe everyone gets one,” Asbury said. “Everyone gets a lucky break, and this is mine.”

CEO sponsored the tuition raffle giveaway to raise money for group members to attend the National Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization conference in Fort Worth, Texas, in late October. The raffle winnings are paid as a private scholarship, which is valued at $3,418.

Asbury said he has been working since he was 14 years old and has saved for college since he began working. Currently, Asbury said he makes money by coaching other players in video games.

“People pay me to help them level up in the video game Starcraft,” Asbury said. “I’ve been playing the game Starcraft since I was young and my friends used to ask me to help them in the game. I would charge them for my help, then I realized there are probably more people out there who would be willing to pay a lot more for my help.”

Asbury said he relies on word-of-mouth to get new clients.

UW-Whitewater CEO president Abbie Murphy said the organization raised $7,000 through ticket sales for the tuition raffle. Murphy said a large portion of the tickets were sold to parents during family week events.

“The fundraiser worked really well,” Murphy said. “We are looking into doing the Tuition Raffle again next fall semester. There isn’t an event like parents day during the spring semester to market the sale of tickets like we did this semester.”

The UW-Whitewater CEO chapter won first place in Best Chapter Plan and in Best In-Person Networking. The group also won second place in Best Chapter Fundraiser for the tuition raffle. UW-Whitewater CEO member, senior Justin Nothem, placed second for his elevator pitch for his College Dog Franchises 90-second pitch.

Murphy said UW-Green Bay and UW-Stout hosted free tuition giveaways for different organizations on their campuses.

UW-Whitewater CEO meets at 5:15 on Wednesdays in Hyland 1300.