Every semester, Panthers who attend on-campus events are entered into a drawing for chances to win a variety of prizes for the Quality Enhancement Plan, better known as the QEP

Some of the most engaged students on campus have received $50 Amazon cards, movie and/or restaurant gift cards, and a host of other prizes. Additionally, many students have won prizes ranging from a coffee maker to an Oculus!

“I’ve been involved in some of the QEP drawings in the past, but I did not know that there was a singular prize for whoever goes to the most events on campus,” Gage Shelton, junior, commented.

Last semester, Shelton won the grand prize after attending more than 30 events on campus.

“It was shocking to see how many events I ended up doing. I think it was 33 that I either organized or went to over the course of the semester, which was a little surprising,” Shelton claimed.

Bella Eddy, sophomore, also won one of the drawings and was able to choose from a variety of prizes.

“I was actually surprised to have gotten an email from the student accounts office that I had been selected to pick from an arrangement of their prizes,” Eddy said. “My favorite prize is my Keurig. It was a struggle to carry back to my dorm, but there are so many settings on it that it was worth it. I was actually elated to have it because Keurig’s retail price for the K-Classic is 149.99, but I got it for free!”

All students have the chance to win by simply attending events and checking in. The more events and check-ins, the better chance people have of winning.

“I frequently have winners who say, ‘I can’t believe I won!  I never win anything!'” said Ed Hally, a political science professor who organizes the QEP program and giveaways.

Hally also said that when some students are notified they won, they don’t believe it.

“We often give prizes to students who may have only attended a very small number of events, and since they didn’t know about the drawing, they might assume the ‘congratulations’ email in their inbox is bogus,” he said.

Hally hopes to impress upon students that the contest, prizes, and his emails are legitimate.

There are also multiple categories in which students can enter and win. They include Athletic, Civic, Cultural, Intellectual, Social, and Spiritual. Most all campus events fall into one of the categories.

The most recent drawing was held Feb. 15. Winners included:

Athletic: First, Kavion Hayes, freshman; Second, Sydney Chavis, senior; Third, Michael Hairston, sophomore
Civic: First, Jeremiah Walker, freshman; Second, Zion Hubbard, freshman; Third, Chase Altis, freshman
Cultural: First, Riley Church, junior; Second, Onyx Steele, sophomore; Third, Matthew Holland, freshman
Intellectual: First, Terrance Scales, junior; Second, Mitchell Crouse, freshman; Third, Shaniya Marable, junior
Social: First, Julio Salazar, senior; Second, Marina Powell, sophomore; Third, Kristina Cossa, senior
Spiritual: First, Refentse Maselwa, sophomore; Second, Hannah Dix, freshman; Third, Kiana Somerville, junior

“All first-place winners are getting a $50 Amazon card, second-place (winners) are getting a $25 card to either Best Buy or Sheetz, and third-place winners are getting a $10 gift certificate to the Ferrum store,” Hally said.

Additional drawings will be held on March 15 and April 14.

The grand prize this spring will be a Playstation 5 with “God of War”.

Hally encourages students to attend as many on-campus events to be added to the upcoming drawings.