When Gracie Beane stepped onto the Quad last Friday, she felt like she was home.

“I’m in heaven,” said the first-year from North Carolina. “I grew up around animals, and so it makes really happy to be around animals again.”

The event was part of Ferrum Fun Friday, a monthly event hosted by the Student Engagement Team.

“The students loved it,” said Melanie Rooks, coordinator of student engagement. “Many of them were telling me how they wish they could play with the animals all day. It was nice to see so many people taking pictures and some people tagged us in the photos.”

It featured the Little Critters Traveling Petting Zoo, an organization out of Troutville that routinely travels up to a 100-mile radius to connect humans with animals.

“We were at the Franklin County Fair this morning and left that and came here,” said Claudia Bullard, who has been with the company for nine years. “We’re kind of bouncing in and out.”

The event featured two large cages that housed animals ranging from bunny rabbits to goats to an alpaca.

For first-year Skyah Johnson, she is happy the zoo bounced through Ferrum.

“I’m having fun,” she said. “I’ve never seen an alpaca before.”

That type of enthusiasm is why Bullard likes her job so much.

“The coolest thing I enjoy is the animals and seeing the people interact with the animals,” she said.

Rooks echoed the sentiment.

“I love when the students are invested and will engage.”