Student wins $10,000 for "Roommate of the Year" award

It's a unique and honorable title. Not many can claim it, and not many can maintain it. But for Andrew Prestler, "Roommate of the Year" was easy to win, because he had a passion for video making.

Prestler, a junior telecommunications major, won the title from Apartments.com over the summer. Along with the recognition, Prestler received free rent for a year and a cash prize of $10,000.

The contest allowed anyone to create a video on why that person is a quality roommate. To be eligible, a contestant had to choose among six categories that relate to qualities one wants in a roommate, had to be 18 years old, comply with the rules guided by Apartments, and had to upload a short video of any style.

It was easy for Prestler to come up with an award-winning idea when he thought of his favorite pastime.

"I make videos and I kind of wanted to do something like a music video," Prestler said. "I was listening to a lot of Beastie Boys, and I thought it would be funny to do something along the lines of that. I kind of just went along with it."