What would you do if you had a chance to win a $500 bookstore gift card? Would you spend it all on textbooks or on fun reads instead?
The Bradley bookstore gave that chance to all Bradley students a few weeks ago when it made a Facebook contest offering a $500 Barnes and Noble gift card to one lucky winner. All students had to do to enter was comment on the page with any reason why they love Bradley University.
“We were looking to do something to create an interaction between students and our Facebook page, and ultimately increase our fan base along with student involvement,” said manager of the bookstore Paul Kroenke.
This contest brought Kroenke the involvement he needed. About 80 students entered the contest, which he said is a big number, although Kroenke said he would’ve liked to see a bigger turnout.
The winner was selected by randomly picking a post from the Facebook page, and freshman electrical engineering major Kyle Santos was chosen.
“I entered the contest because I wanted to show my school pride, and let everyone know how great of a school Bradley is, how lucky I am to go here, and of course why I went here,” Santos said.
Santos found out he won the contest through one of his teachers, who received an email saying he won. His reaction to winning the contest was one of disbelief, which turned into raw excitement.
He said he plans on purchasing his physics and engineering books with his gift card, which is a dream for most broke college students.
Of the students who did not enter the contest was sophomore public relations major Stephanie Porter.
“I didn’t join the contest because I didn’t see it advertised anywhere,” she said. “I didn’t know about it at all.”
This is the common reason why most students did not enter. However, for the students that did enter, this meant a higher chance for them to win.
Kroenke said he plans on doing something like this in the future to help the Facebook page out and help students become more involved.
Be sure to check the Hilltop Happenings or like the Bradley bookstore page on Facebook to keep up with the latest events, and become a possible winner.
