Abby Epstein – News Editor
Find a chest full of gold! Student Involvement hid 12 treasure chests across campus with prizes located inside.
“We wanted an event for homecoming that was on ground, that encouraged students to go around campus,” said graduate intern Alandre Alexis.
The chests were hidden around 5 a.m, stretching all across campus from Jess Dow Field to past Engleman. Some students were up and on campus looking for the chests by 8 a.m.
“It’s 10:30 and we were getting messages on Instagram at 8 o’clock of students on campus looking,” said Associate Director of student involvement Eric LaCharity. “The fact that people are up before breakfast trying to find them is really encouraging to us.”
Alexis and Lacharity both said how eager students were to find the chests and were glad students were showing enthusiasm towards the event.
This morning I had three students corner me and try to pressure me about where the treasure chests were,” said Alexis.
Two students who tried to get answers from Alexis were sophomores, Tracy Nham and Nicole Thomas. They came running in and demanding to know where the chests were, saying they have already been looking for two hours.
“We started at 8:30am because he told us they were being hidden at 5:00am, it is now 10:30” said nursing major Tracy Nham, a sophomore.
Elementary education major Britny Gildersleeve, a freshman, woke up early but was able to find her chest at Jess Dow Field within 20 minutes of starting her search.
“I went to Jess Dow Field because I figured one might be over there and while I was on the actual field, I looked up at the home side bleachers and it was literally right in the center,” said Gildersleeve.
Gildersleeve and her friends came up with a strategy of splitting up so that they could cover more ground in less time.
“We figured we should split up and cover different areas of the campus, so we all have a better chance of finding them,” said Gildersleeve. “We all worked together and were texting each other the whole time about the areas we already searched.”
Each chest contained a QR code inside which once students scan, tells them the prize they have won. The prizes consisted of a Smart TV, Air Pods, Nintendo Switch Lite, record player, projector, Polaroid camera, $100 Amazon gift card, Bluetooth speaker, power beats, and tshirts.
“So, part of the fun is finding the chest but also finding out what you won,” said Alexis.
Aside from the obvious frustration and constantly having to stay on the lookout, many students enjoyed participating in the treasure hunt.
“It’s fun, there aren’t that many activities in person on campus so this is the one thing that we can do,” said theatre major Nicole Thomas, a sophomore.
Some students were not bothered by waking up at 8 a.m. to start the search, noting that the event took place kind of early.
“It was just something fun to do in the morning,” said Glidersleeve, “it was kinda fun knowing we were going to wake up early to do this hunt and try to win prizes.”
A couple years ago, Student Involvement did a different treasure hunt based on Game of Thrones which Lacharity said was a success. With the participation Student Involvement saw with the treasure hunt, they will be looking to do more in the future.
“Based on the two times we have done this there is no doubt we’ll do this again down the line, maybe not before it gets cold but hopefully in the spring again,” said LaCharity.
