Priyanka Sharma, 19, who's heading into her third year at University of Toronto Mississauga, where she's studying biology, is in line for a prize that includes a concert by Mississauga band illScarlett for her fellow UTM students during frosh week, one year's tuition up to $10,000, five laptop computers to share with friends, a printer and a laptop case.
She entered the contest in May after reading about it on a student awards website. Entrants were asked to submit a video or photo of themselves outlining why MuchMusic should come to their school with a band and why HP should pay for one year's tuition.
Sharma, who says videography is a hobby, submitted a slideshow that featured graphics, photos of herself and a rhyming sequence she wrote that includes the lines, "I want to be a doctor, I work so hard, I have a 4.0 grade point average…"
"I'm so surprised I'm a finalist," said Sharma, a graduate of St. Joseph Secondary School. "I never thought I'd do this well."
Online voting continues all week, with two of the four contestants going on to the final round beginning Monday.
Visit hpvote.muchmusic.com to vote.
"It only takes a minute to vote, so I'm hoping because I was born and raised here that Mississauga will vote for me," said Sharma.
At the moment, she's in third place, with 24 per cent of the vote.
jslack@mississauga.net
