Ind. Boy Wins Free Scholarship With Lucky Penny

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) -- A 7-year-old boy from Terre Haute has won a full college scholarship thanks to a lucky penny.

The Indiana State University Foundation passed out cards with pennies attached to them at a homecoming parade last month. The child who got a lucky blue penny could trade in the card for a free ISU scholarship.

Second-grader Bobby Hetterscheidt says he knew he had the lucky penny as soon as he turned over the card he was handed.

Hetterscheidt would be a member of the incoming college freshman class of 2020 and hopes to be a police officer when he grows up.

The scholarship is estimated to be worth about $40,000.

The ISU Foundation says the lucky penny giveaway was a way to thank people for supporting the school and its new fundraising campaign.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)