University Housing will be driving off with $1,000 in Zipcar credits after being named a finalist in a contest from the car-sharing company.
ASU’s student housing department placed third in the Student Life category of the Zipcar Students With Drive contest for October.
The monthly contest that began in October and ends in April is split into five categories — Athletics, Academics, Community Service, Arts and Student Life.
The contest requires University-affiliated groups to submit an application with photos or videos, and they must demonstrate a need for transportation. Winners of the contest are then awarded car service credits, which allow them to use the company cars for their various group activities.
Sustainability junior and Residential Life community assistant Kendon Jung applied for the contest on behalf of University Housing.
Jung said all CAs receive Zipcar memberships and are part of an email listserv. He found out about the contest in one the emails sent from the company.
“I thought it sounded interesting so I applied for University Housing,” he said.
Zipcar public relations specialist Colleen McCormick said in an email that the group winner for one of the five categories receives a top prize of $5,500. Two runner-up winners — such as University Housing — are awarded $1,000.
Each credit is worth $1. According to the company’s website, the car rental cost is $8 per hour or $66 per day on weekdays, depending on the model of car.
University Housing marketing specialist Eliza Robinson said CAs have a definite need for the Zipcar credits.
“CAs live on campus, so they might not have access to transportation they need to use to go to stores to get materials for their floor activities,” she said.
Robinson said University Housing staff members are still determining how to use the credits they won.
The car-sharing company chose three finalists in each of the five categories and then Facebook fans of Zipcar chose winners in each category.
University Housing earned 110 votes for a third place slot, coming in behind organizations from the University of Washington and George Washington University.
Senior Director of Residential Life Kendra Hunter said in a prepared statement that the department commends Jung for his initiative.
“University Housing is extremely proud of the resourcefulness and ingenuity of our student staff towards creating an outstanding residential experience for the ASU student community,” Hunter said.
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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