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Grand View University is a fairly large campus where there is always a lot going on. Students and friends may spend their time outside of class at student hang out places such as Bud’s Place, CJ’s Place, the green space, basketball courts, or maybe just sitting in their dorms playing video games.

Even with all of these hotspots filling the campus, there are many sites unknown to most, that have been donated by the school’s Alumnus.

In attempts to raise awareness of these “hidden places” that we so easily overlook, GV United has set out in coalition with the Advancement Office.

The purpose of this student leadership group is to form a relationship and a connection between the current and past students of Grand View University.

According to GV United Student Leader Megan Hummel, “We want to make light of certain places around campus that students might not know about.” Those ‘certain places’ are a part of GV United’s mission.

The theme for this year is ‘Hidden Places’. Thanks to inspiration from Willy Wonka, the leaders of GV United created a game that requires students to search for a very special Golden Ticket.

The monthly Golden Ticket hunt appears to be the best way to achieve their goal. Students will be enticed to explore the plethora of places on campus that were donated by some of Grand View’s alumni.

The first person to discover and turn in the Golden Ticket each month will win an amazing prize.

This game took off in September. An email was sent to the student body with a description of the game, and a hint as to where the first ticket may be hidden.

Students instantly came up with a few strategies to find the location of the Golden Ticket. Some resorted to Google, others went to long-time professors.

However, there can only be one person that can obtain the monthly treasure. If a student hopes to win, they must be quicker and more clever than the rest.

The September Golden Ticket was found in the Memorial Gardens (a serene place funded solely by GV Alumni) outside of the Humphrey Building by Jared Buckalew.

After a fairly random and confusing path of searching, Buckalew stumbled upon his treasure taped to a pole and buried under many vines.

“When I won, I got a couple of tickets to the Escape Chambers. I’m going to bring my friend from back home there this weekend. I know it’ll be a lot of fun,” mentioned Buckalew.

Along the way, Jared had the opportunity to set foot in places such as Humphrey’s bedroom, the library, and even the Jensen Wellness Center; each being places he wouldn’t have otherwise gone into.

Many around the Grand View campus took part in the search and are sure to be eagerly awaiting the October hunt. Unlike September, this month will present many more opportunities for victory.

“In October, we are hiding a golden ticket, but we are also going to hide multiple silver tickets around campus. That way, people have more chances and opportunities to go out and find one. The last golden ticket, someone found it right away, and then people weren’t able to go out and see these places around campus,” explains GV United Leader Megan Hummel.

GV Leader Dani Kock was surprised at how easily the game was to put together and very happy to see the large involvement. This was especially the case due to a few brief bumps in the road.

“When we came out here to hide it, we didn’t have a laminator, so we had to use clear tape. We just covered it over and over with clear tape. We taped it there, and that weekend, it rained. Bad. Huge storm. Maintenance came out, found it taped to the pole, took it down, and was just going to throw it away because they thought it was vandalism,” Kock recalled.

Fortunately, the ticket was quickly replaced upon the pole for students to soon find.

Both GV United and the student body alike are looking forward to discovering more of Grand View’s “Hidden Places” in the following months.