There was excitement in the air as a record-breaking 850+ students crowded into the Pegasus Ballroom\u00a0eager to bid on prizes at the annual LINK (Learning and Interacting with New Knights) and Fall Auction. Freshmen can accumulate LINK Loot\/points for every LINK program they attend and use the points at an auction at the end of the semester.<\/p>\n
Raymond Ng was excited to win the grand prize, tuition scholarship. \u201cLINK helped me more than I thought it would and proved to be an extraordinary aid in self edification,\u201d said Ng. \u201cI feel that many of the workshops and events helped me learn a lot more and how to better myself and my education.\u201d Other prizes included a UCF Dining meal plan for the 2010-2011 academic year, acoustic guitar, Wolverine DVD, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3 game console, UCF Spirit Packs, tickets to Universal Studios, a Tom Tom GPS unit, and many gift cards donated by local restaurants. There were also raffle drawings throughout the night, which offered the chance to win prizes for any of the students in attendance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bidding for items was competitive and students fiercely tried to outbid each other for the prizes they wanted\u201d said Josh Wheeler, First Year Experience coordinator and auctioneer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The LINK staff announced they will have a raffle in the Spring instead of an auction. At the Spring Raffle, there will be multiple tiers of prizes. Each tier will have raffle tickets that can be purchased with a corresponding number of LINK Loot. For example, students can purchase raffle tickets for 10,000 LINK Loot at the grand prize table, but can purchase tickets for 500 Loot at the third-tier table. By changing the format, more students will have a chance at the prizes, with or without the most Loot points.<\/p>\n