UW Students, Employee Win Prizes for Reporting Vaccinations

A University of Wyoming student from Lander and five of her friends will have dinner with UW President Ed Seidel and his partner, Gabrielle Allen, after the student won a weekly drawing for UW students who’ve reported being vaccinated for COVID-19.

Artemis Langford, who’s working toward a secondary education degree in social studies, won the presidential dinner prize after her name was drawn from among students who’ve reported their COVID-19 vaccinations on the Student Health Service patient portal. The catered dinner will be scheduled in the President’s Room at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.

“Being in a family that has at-risk members and myself as an at-risk person, I felt that I had an obligation to get vaccinated to protect myself and others -- a duty to the well-being of society. I would strongly encourage my fellow students to seek out and get vaccinated and report it,” Langford says. “I look forward to meeting President Seidel in person. I would like to ask him for advice about my future in the university and learn more about what he does.”

Meanwhile, student Thomas Furland, of Albert Lea, Minn., is the latest winner of a $300 prize in the weekly drawing for UW students who’ve reported being vaccinated. The $300 cash prizes as well as other prizes will go out weekly until the sixth week of the fall semester Sept. 27.

“I chose to get vaccinated to do my part in reducing the spread of the virus. The reporting process was simple; I was able to scan and upload my vaccination card within minutes,” Furland says. “I would recommend vaccination to students and faculty in order to continue in-person learning. I am a transfer student and would very much enjoy to continue traditional classes and activities.”

And Samantha Stevens, a junior from Lovell, has won a pregame sideline access pass for an upcoming UW football game.

“I decided to be vaccinated due to my workplace. I’m a pediatric dental assistant, and I just wanted to protect myself and the children I work with daily,” says Stevens, a double major in elementary and special education. “I’d recommend the vaccination to be more free to go about our normal lives again eventually. It protects yourself and others against COVID-19.”

On Aug. 23, a political science major from Virginia -- who opted to not be publicly identified -- won up to $4,500 in tuition and fees after winning the first grand prize in the student vaccination reporting incentive program. The second winner of the grand prize, covering up to $4,500 in tuition and fees, will be drawn the week of Sept. 27.

In a separate vaccination reporting incentive program for UW employees, Brooke Glahn, a mental health counselor in the University Counseling Center, won a weekend gear rental from the UW Outdoor Program when her name was drawn.

“I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be vaccinated during this uncertain time,” Glahn says.

Make Sure You’re Entered by Reporting

While vaccinations are not required for UW students and employees -- instead, they’re strongly encouraged -- students and employees should report their vaccinations once they’ve received them. This allows the university to track overall vaccination numbers. The information is not being used for any other purpose, except to enter those who’ve reported their vaccinations into the drawings for prizes. The university’s privacy protocols are being followed.

To upload documentation to the Student Health Service patient portal, take a photo of your vaccination document and upload the picture here: http://patientportal.uwyo.edu, using your regular UW user ID and password. This is the same portal where students report their mandatory vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella. Additionally, students can report their vaccinations by emailing photos of their vaccination documents to Student Health at studenthealth@uwyo.edu.

For employees, a quick reference guide has been created to help report vaccinations within UW’s HCM. 

Vaccines are widely available for free in the community, including the Pfizer vaccine, which has received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for those 16 and older. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines also have been proven to be highly effective and safe.

Only those students who submit their COVID-19 vaccination information to Student Health are eligible for the prize drawings. Students who submit proof of their first shots will be eligible for the weekly drawings; to win the tuition and fee prizes, students must have submitted proof of complete vaccination (for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, two doses). Students should watch their UW email accounts on Mondays, as that is when they’ll be notified if they’re prize winners.

The weekly drawing is for a winner who receives $300 in cash, along with one more winner for another prize. Those prizes include pregame field access passes for UW football games; Dining Dollars cards from UW Dining Services, each valued at $100; and Apple AirPods.

Additionally, five students will each win the prize of a dinner for six with Seidel and Allen at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. Also included will be catered dinners with Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman, along with Associated Students of UW President Hunter Swilling.

UW students and employees can receive COVID-19 vaccines at several locations in Laramie. They include: Walmart, Walgreens, Pole Mountain Pharmacy, Ridley’s, Stitches Acute Care, Laramie Pediatrics, Albany Community Health Clinic, Ivinson Medical Group, the Downtown Clinic and Family Physicians of Laramie. Additional vaccination clinics are being planned on the UW campus as well.

Students who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons may participate in the drawings by completing a vaccination exemption form found on the Student Health Service website.

For more details on the student vaccination reporting incentive program, go to www.uwyo.edu/alerts/campus-return/vaccination/index.html.

Albany County Incentive Program Launches

UW students and employees also are eligible to participate in an Albany County vaccination program called You Call the Shots that launched Monday. Organized by a coalition of community members, with the support of local businesses, You Call the Shots offers weekly raffles and other prizes of up to $2,500 for local residents to roll up their sleeves and make Laramie a safer place to work and live. Albany County residents 12 and older can register at https://bit.ly/calltheshotslaramie.

While supplies last, $25 gift cards will be given to those who receive the vaccine at the time of vaccination at these locations: the Downtown Clinic, Grand Avenue Urgent Care, Ivinson Medical Group, Pole Mountain Pharmacy, Ridley’s and Walmart.

Additionally, every Monday, Sept. 6-Oct. 4, there will be one weekly drawing for a $1,000 cash award. Multiple grand prize packages, including a $2,500 cash prize, will be awarded in October.

Entries are open to Albany County residents who have received their first vaccine shots. The full course of vaccination is required in order to redeem prizes; winners will be required to show proof of vaccination. Prize winners will be announced on social media every Friday following the weekly drawings.