Impact, Harding Univer- sity’s freshmen orientation program, stepped up its game this year by giving away a prize of $10,000 to a freshman to go toward an international program.The giveaway was announced Friday night, Aug. 19, before the hypnotist began his annual show. The rules for winning the giveaway were simple: use Twitter and tweet. The prize was given out the following Saturday night during Impact’s Extravaganza to freshman Richelle Pettit.
The idea came about when the Impact co-directors Ryan Rummage and Le- Andra Grant were trying to think up ways to make the weekend memorable. They first came up with the idea of the Extravaganza, which was hosted in the Rhodes Field House and acted as a Midnight Madness to showcase the Harding athletes of the fall sports. The idea for the giveaway came as an incentive for the students to come to the Rhodes and stay.
“We wanted to keep ev- eryone engaged all weekend because it is so beneficial for everyone to meet new people and get involved,” Rummage said.
They thought a big prize would be the best way and that is when the idea of giving away a semester abroad with the International Programs came up. Rummage said he did not think Jeff Hopper, Dean of the International Programs, would agree to the big idea, but to his surprise Hopper did.
“From the first phone call, Dr. Hopper and everyone else in the International Programs office was on
board,” said Rummage. The large money giveaway caught many students’ ears, but what caught their eyes was the way Hopper dressed up to present the money. He dressed up as Thunderbolt, a Native American chief and walked out on the Benson Auditorium stage to present the giveaway. He said he wanted to grab the students’ attention and send the message that there are so many different cultures to experience in the world. “A part of the Inter- national Programs is to heighten others’ awareness
of culture,” Hopper said. Hopper also stated he did not hesitate to say yes to the idea of a cash giveaway because he saw the big pic- ture. He stated that when more students go, the less it costs each student and so it was worth spending $10,000 on one student to
encourage more to go. Rummage said his goal of getting more students to participate in the weekend and make it memorable worked, along with helping the International Programs achieve its goal of make themselves more visible to the student body. As for where the winner will go, Pettit said she has decided to attend the Greece program
in the summer.
