The $5,000 College Book Giveaway Winners Are...!

Hey All,

I hope you are all doing very well! A happy December to you and yours.

Today, I’m pleased to announce that I’ve chosen the winners of the $5,000 College Book Giveaway that I announced in November (you can see the video embedded above, in case you missed it).

To refresh your memory, I wanted to find 10 college students majoring in history and/or political science, and pay for a semester’s worth of college books for each of them, up to $500 each. I majored in American History, and I remember how many books I had to buy, and how expensive the entire ordeal was, especially for students who rarely have two nickels to rub together. Since this year has been, by far, the most successful professional and financial year of my life, I wanted to give back to the audience that has been so kind, generous, and gracious in allowing me to pursue my dreams. This is how I decided to do that this year. Next year, who knows what I may decide to do?! Either way, my success comes from your support, and so, for the 10 winners, hopefully a fraction of their success comes from the little bit of support I can, in turn, show them.

Late last night, I reached out to all 10 winners, and am slowly-but-surely hearing back from all of them. It was far, far harder for me to pick the winners than I thought possible, and the reality is that I heard from a really great crop of young, eager to-be scholars that are working hard, studying, and trying to do the right thing. And I don’t want anyone to feel like a loser in this. So, I’ve decided that I’m going to give $50 Amazon gift cards to everyone who submitted a video (and followed the rules), but who didn’t get chosen as one of the 10 winners. I want everyone who participated to walk away with something.

That’s something I’ll tend to later in the month (or perhaps even in January, as my plate is quite full right now). In the meantime, let’s congratulate the 10 winners, listed below, and applaud them for their hard work, determination, and thirst for knowledge:

Caleb Greer (History major, Northwestern State University)
Gray Winsler (Politicial Science major, City College of New York)
Stonewall Craft (Political Science major, Indiana University)
Bobby Garibaldi (History Education major, University of Delaware)
Paige Forrester (Political Science major, Purdue University)
Caleb Turner (Government major, William & Mary College)
Jesse Jordon (History major, Allegheny College)
Jacob Hilton (History/Political Science major, Iowa State University)
Eli Pales (Political Science major, Michigan State University)
Michael Messina (Political Science major, SUNY Binghamton)

And, while we’re here, let’s also take a moment to acknowledge and thank all of you. You’ve gone above-and-beyond for me this year. You’ve made CLS possible. You’ve made the runaway success of this Patreon possible. You’ve made it possible to split CLS into three separate shows, all with their own fanbases. I want to thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for that. I hope you don’t mind that I took some of your hard-earned cash and passed it along to some students that could use it a lot more than I can.

Thanks again. And congratulations, once more, to the winners! I hope the small influx of cash each of you receive helps lessen the strain on your finances, and puts your mind at ease as you pursue your dreams. Yours, -Colin