Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow hosted a pig picking on Harris Field Wednesday afternoon.
During the dinner, which was free for STAT members, eligible juniors and seniors could purchase class rings.
Candice Epps, a junior in biological sciences, said it’s so important to her to receive her ring in December and wear it while she is still completing her degree.
“It symbolizes all of my hard work so far,” Epps said.
STAT rescheduled the event three times throughout the year. The dinner was originally scheduled for Aug. 24, but was moved to Sept. 1 because Harris Field was not available. Inconvenient weather forced the event to be rescheduled once again to Wednesday, Josh Sherrod, director of STAT and junior in microbiology, said.
“We planned this event all summer long. A lot of hard work and rescheduling went into this dinner,” Sherrod said.
Some students were awarded prizes, such as iPod shuffles and gift certificates, throughout the dinner. Qualifications to receive a $100 gift certificate towards a class ring included having at least 60 credit hours completed and no previous purchase of a class ring.
The latter prohibited the original candidate for the gift certificate from winning and allowed Charles Boler, a senior in criminology, to receive the prize.
“I feel great,” Boler said. “I’m glad I won because it’s an expensive ring and it’s good to have the money off.”
STAT members and juniors and seniors who attended the event ate their dinners with live music STAT provided.
“I’m really enjoying the music, and the food is really good,” Janet Potter, a freshman in business management, said.
Erica Burden, a sophomore in English, said the event provided a great way to promote STAT and to show off the good networking STAT can offer members.
“You get to meet a lot of people through STAT. Everybody feels the connection because we all love NCSU,” Taylor Lanier, a freshman in biological sciences, said.
Attendees lined up at tables to purchase class rings from Balfour, a company that produces graduation supplies.
“It’s exciting. It means we’re closer to graduating,” Jessica Sturdevant, a junior in animal science, said.
The dinner included barbecue and various side dishes, and dessert consisted of NCSU-inspired cakes.
