As the can tumbles from the fluorescently-lit soda machine, Mississippi State University student Anna Trundle’s face stares up from a can of Dr Pepper.
Anna Trundle said the chance of a lifetime all started when she unintentionally stumbled upon an interview with Dr Pepper to win a chance to receive a $2,500 scholarship.
“(Dr Pepper representatives) were at the Tennessee vs. Mississippi State football game last season with the Coaches Trophy,” Anna Trundle said. “I wanted my picture with it, and a guy from Dr Pepper started talking to us and asked us to do an interview, so I did it right then on the spot. I talked about wanting to join the Peace Corps after college and then going to grad school at Tennessee, and I mentioned that I wanted to be on the Dr Pepper can because it’s my favorite drink.”
David Trundle, Anna Trundle’s father, said he was at the game with his daughter when she gave the interview.
“Anna came up to me and said, ‘Dad, you won’t believe what I just did!’” David Trundle said. “As a parent, I’m very biased — I’m so proud of both my daughters — but then a representative from Dr Pepper came up to me and said, ‘That was a fabulous interview, especially for being off-the-cuff.  I think you’ll be hearing from Dr  Pepper soon.’”
Kathleen McMullin, senior interdisciplinary studies major and a good friend of Anna’s, said she was “not at all surprised” when Anna’s interview went so well.
“When I first met Anna, she blew me away with how personable she was and how easily she talked to new people,” McMullin said. “I don’t know anyone more deserving.” 
Despite her friend’s and family’s expectations, Anna Trundle said she was surprised to receive a phone call from Dr Pepper on a Monday evening last November to tell her she had won a $2,500 scholarship. Later, this amount was bumped up to $7,500.
“They then said that I was chosen to go to the SEC Championship on Dec. 3 and that I was allowed to bring one person with me,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Dr Pepper had also informed Anna Trundle she could receive a $100,000 scholarship if she won a football-tossing contest during the SEC Championship game’s halftime show. 
Anna Trundle said the first call she made was to her parents.
“My dad said he was so excited to go with me, and he would think of ways for me to train,” Anna Trundle said. “I thought I’d joke with him a little bit, so I said, ‘What makes you think I’m going to take you, Dad?’ He immediately replied, ‘Anna, I’ve played sports with you your whole life. I was there at the game when you made the video. I’m going with you!’”
Anna Trundle said Dr Pepper paid for her plane tickets, hotel room, food and access to parties in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. She and her father had seats on the 50-yard line.
Unfortunately, Anna Trundle broke her finger the week of the contest and was not able to throw to her usual standards.
“It made me mad that I broke my finger because I had been working so hard on tossing the ball, and in a minute of playing flag football it was all gone,” Anna Trundle said. “Even though I didn’t win the first or second place prize, Dr Pepper wanted me to go to St. Louis for the photo shoot for the cans. They said I had a great attitude toward having a broken finger, and I had a great perspective all weekend and wasn’t mad about my situation.”
Last March, Dr Pepper flew Anna Trundle to St. Louis, where she participated in a photo shoot complete with her own hair dresser and makeup artist.
“Dr Pepper paid for me to fly to St. Louis. They paid for my hotel room, they paid for my food and they took us to a hockey game where we had our own suite,” Anna Trundle said.
A picture with two other winners is now on two-liter bottles of Diet Dr Pepper around the country, and on cans of Dr Pepper in select regions. She said it is up to the bottler to decide if they want to use the picture.
“It’s been fun seeing both across the country. My dad bought 34 cases of the cans when he found them in Kentucky,” Anna Trundle said.
David Trundle said he loved to experience all the excitement with his daughter.
“It was unbelievable,” David Trundle said. “Not only are we having a great time, not only do we get to go to the football game, not only does she get to compete in this event, not only did she get a photo shoot in St. Louis, but it was paid for and she won $5,000 more than she thought. As a parent, getting to spend that weekend with her and watching her interact with the other kids was really neat.”