Third annual Summer Scavenger Hunt for U of C alumni offers opportunities to reconnect with campus

By Kimberly Taylor, July 17 2024—

The third annual Summer Scavenger Hunt offers U of C alumni a free online event to reconnect with the campus and win prizes from alumni built businesses begins on Friday July 19 and runs for four weeks until Aug. 18. Missions will be released weekly with a grand prize of a $400 visa gift card provided by TD Insurance and weekly prizes provided by alumni businesses and the U of C. According to the scavenger hunt website the scavenger hunt is supported by UCalgary Alumni Association partners TD Insurance and Manulife.

Priyanka Minhas – alumni program specialist on the alumni engagement team – spoke with the Gauntlet about this unique program. Minhas explained that the scavenger hunt is designed to reconnect alumni with the UCalgary campus, to build their knowledge of alumni built businesses and to connect with other alumni.

“To engage them back to campus but also to spread awareness about alumni built businesses, connect our regional alumni [and] for them to showcase where life took them after they graduated,” said Minhas.

Minhas explained that the scavenger hunt will take place on the app goosechase with weekly missions and weekly prizes provided by alumni built businesses as well as a grand prize. Participants complete missions on goosechase — both online and in person — to compete for these prizes.

“It’s a good balance between coming to campus, but also you can still win if you don’t,” said Minhas.

Minhas highlighted that one of the goals of the scavenger hunt is to increase alumni knowledge about UCalgary alumni, accomplishments, and offerings.

“[Participants will] learn more about UCalgary and what it offers,” said Minhas. “For example we have new bike stalls, or the records that the Olympic oval has broken. There’s so much that the university offers and I feel like people wouldn’t know unless they look for it.”

Minhas also emphasized the other main goal of the scavenger hunt is for alumni to have some fun over the summer whether they live in Calgary, or elsewhere.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re in Calgary or not — just fun with it. I know it’s a competition, but it’s a scavenger hunt [and] it’s supposed to be fun.” Minhas said, “[It’s] something that they can do with their kids too and it’s an event where like it takes over a course of month over the summer,” Minhas continued.

Minhas explained that the alumni engagement team works with Jeff Wallace – business lead development – to develop prizes and missions for the scavenger hunt.

“We have about three missions that are ‘find me’ [where] we give [participants] an address and ask them to take a picture of the storefront,” said Minhas. “We also have missions that if they don’t have a storefront we say go to the website and let us know what would you like to try from them.”

To participate in the scavenger hunt, alumni can register here.