THUNDER BAY — The hours and hours she spent working with duct tape to make a graduation dress have all paid off for Monica Walsh.
The 18-year-old from Dryden has won first place and a $15,000 (U.S.) scholarship in the Duck Tape Stuck at Prom competition.
Walsh, who's spending summer in the Thunder Bay area, got the news in a recent phone call from the company that makes the Duck brand of tape but had to keep it confidential until the results were posted online Wednesday morning.
"It was crazy. My mouth dropped immediately, and I covered it because I was so excited," she said.
"I'm an optimist, so I thought I had a pretty good chance of winning."
It took 126 hours of toil to construct the dress from 13 rolls of duct tape.
"It was all worth it. I think that even if I didn't win, it would have still been worth it.
"I remember when I was waiting to see if I was a finalist, I was thinking that even if I'm not, it still turned out really good, and it's something I feel I can be proud of."
Walsh expressed gratitude to the people who supported her by casting ballots online.
"I'd love to say thank you to everyone who voted for me and shared it because that helped a lot . . . This means a lot to me.
"It shows you can really do anything if you put your mind to it."
Her colourful creation will be shipped to the U.S. where the contest sponsor will display it in a gallery along with dresses made by previous winners.
Walsh graduated from Dryden High School in June and will begin her post-secondary education at Lakehead University this fall.
