SCHS Grad Creates Unique Costume Out of Duct Tape for Scholarship Contest

A 2019 Stephens County High School graduate is one of five national finalists in a contest to win a $10,000 college scholarship.

18-year old DC Stoltz is a finalist in the Stuck At Prom contest and is hoping enough people will vote for him this week so he will win the money for school. Stoltz will attend Piedmont College in the fall.

Sponsored by duct tape manufacturer Duck Brand, the contest began April 1and runs through midnight this Friday.  In order to participate in the competition, contestants had to make a prom outfit completely out of duct tape.

His mother, Jolan Stoltz said DC was involved in theatre and drama in high school and he designed his costume himself.

“So he wanted to present something that was him,” she explained. “His persona is a “Chardon X”, a Paladin, which is a holy knight for Christ. He told me, ‘I want the shield to have flames at the top and the flames in blue is redemption.’ The sword is the sword of justice, because it’s for a knight for Christ.”

Stoltz, who has sewn costumes for herself for historic re-enactments, said it took awhile to come up with a material that the duct tape would stick to, but she eventually something that worked.

“I put it on lining fabric and it worked. Then we just started taping up fabric, cutting out patterns and sewing. So, the pants are 100% sewn, the vest and coat are all sewn. The vest and cuffs are actually paper doilies and clear tape,” she said.

The entire outfit took 38 rolls of black duct tape and 148 hours to make.

On the Stuck At Prom web page, DC said the contest fit his personality and what he calls his “diffabilities.”

His mother says DC, who graduated at the top of his class with multiple honors and one scholarship already, has autism. But he doesn’t let that stop him.

“We don’t consider it a disability,” Stoltz said. “And this is from my son. He said, ‘Mom, I don’t have a disability. We’re all different, but don’t let your diffability characterize you.’ Not disability, diffability.”

The finalist with the most votes will win the $10,000 scholarship.

If you would like to vote for DC Stoltz, just go to www.stuckatprom.com and click on “Cast Final Vote.”

You can vote for DC once a day and you can also see his costume, see how many votes he has racked up, and read his story about his costume and how he created it.