KPU Students Ran an Amazing Race on June 12
On June 12, KPU students were invited to take part in a two-hour race that took them around the Surrey campus as they looked for clues, solved riddles, completed challenges, and cooperated in pairs.
This was the second annual KPU edition of The Amazing Race.
One competitor, Nick Gill, says he was going all out for a win because of the prize for first place—a $100 Sports Check gift card for each teammate. He even went as far as abandoning Alex, his initial teammate, for a better shot at the prize.
“It’s the whole reason I was competitive,” says Gill. “I told [Alex], ‘Sorry, it’s a hundred dollars. I’ve gotta ditch you for a partner I know I can win with.’ But I helped him find another teammate, so it worked out.”
The race featured a variety of stations across the campus, each with its own theme. The first challenge was about religious inclusivity, while others focused on sustainability and the importance of staying physically active. A few of them even offered information about KSA organizations, such as the Peer Support program crossword and the MultiPass trivia challenge.
The last station, reminiscent of Fear Factor, had both teammates blindfolded and consuming an unidentified mystery concoction.
“I ate it and I was like, ‘Is this a worm? Why is it sweet? Why do I like this!’” Gill recalls.
“A lot of people thought it was worms,” says Maria Penner, an event volunteer who helped to devise the strange amalgamation of bell peppers, corn starch, popcorn and cinnamon that students had to eat. “I had to keep telling people it wasn’t worms.”
Penner adds that, on top of being a valuable addition to a resume, volunteering has helped her academic experience as well.
“It sounds terrible, but when I first started university I didn’t see the point in coming, looking at a bunch of books, and then leaving. It just felt empty.”
After making a group of friends by volunteering with the KSA, she says her experience began to turn around.
“When you have friends to come to university for, it feels more full,” she says. “It stops feeling so lonely.”
According to event organizer Connor McCann, Active KSA has more events scheduled throughout the rest of the summer, including a Dragon Boating session on August 10.
“I really enjoy the whole planning aspect,” says McCann. “It was a bit rushed, as I was only hired a few weeks ago, but I was very fortunate that so many of the different departments who participated did an awesome job planning and preparing a lot of their own activities. From the feedback I’ve received so far, it sounds like both staff and students really enjoyed themselves.”
