Poke-a-Thon: OSU launches incentive program to encourage student vaccination


Incentives include football tickets, iPads and over $10K in bursar scholarships 

Story provided by Oklahoma State University

There are plenty of reasons to get vaccinated. This fall, Oklahoma State University is offering students a lot more. 

Through the Poke-a-thon campaign, OSU is offering students incentives to get vaccinated for COVID-19, including football tickets, iPads and bursar scholarships totaling over $10,000. 

The contest is open to fully vaccinated, OSU-Stillwater students actively enrolled for the fall 2021 semester. To participate, students must provide proof of full vaccination to OSU University Health Services (UHS). That enters students into a weekly raffle, which begins Aug. 18 and runs for eight weeks. Students who received their vaccination through UHS automatically will be entered in the raffle. 

OSU President Kayse Shrum said vaccinations are the key to continued success in the battle against COVID-19. Dr. Shrum continues to encourage the OSU community to get vaccinated in anticipation of a full return to in-person learning this fall.

“As we near the beginning of the fall semester, I am strongly encouraging vaccinations, particularly amongst our student population,” Shrum said. “In an effort to provide additional motivation, we are launching ‘Poke-a-thon,’ a campaign with incentives for students to get vaccinated in order to help protect our campus community.”

While the list is still growing, prizes will include:

  • Three $3,500 scholarships in the form of bursar credit 
  • Two suite tickets to a Cowboy football home game
  • Two club-level tickets to a Cowboy football home game
  • Two Fan Experience packages at a Cowboy football home game
  • Two Apple iPads
  • Two Apple Airpods
  • Five $50 gift cards for campus dining
  • 10 $100 gift cards for the University Store
  • 10 free parking passes
  • Three free campus bike rentals
  • Giveaways from local Stillwater businesses 

In addition to promoting vaccinations at University Health Services during student move-in, UHS will offer pop-up vaccination clinics in the heart of campus throughout August. Payne County Health Department will also offer vaccinations during the Lights on Stillwater event, which will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 18 at Boone Pickens Stadium.