Sophomore Andrew Riordan gasped in disbelief as UNM President David Schmidly announced him the winner of a new MacBook.
The computer giveaway was part of Monday's ribbon-cutting ceremony for the technology center of the UNM Bookstore.
Melanie Sparks, director of the Bookstore, said she and the administration decided to revamp the technology area of the store to better serve the UNM community.
The shop is located in the northwest corner of the ground floor, past Starbucks. The area is enclosed by walls that reach almost to the ceiling, and there's a "Mac Bar," where students can try out Apple computers.
Dell also has a display, and software sits locked in glass cases along the back wall.
Sparks said she came up with the plan a year ago with the purchasing department and Steve Beffort, vice president of institutional support services.
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She said the cost of the project was $70,000 and that all funding came from the Bookstore.
"We are investing in it because we think it is the right thing to invest in for the future of the University," she said. "We really want this to be something where the whole campus community can come for their technology issues, concerns, products - everything."
Sparks said she hired a new manager, John Bermel, to help with the budget and make sure the center is run well.
Bermel said he received positive feedback on the store's addition.
"A bunch of people came in and said they'd never imagined this is how it was going to look," he said. "People were really happy with the way it turned out."
Senior Mario Atencio said the center could compete with standalone shops elsewhere in Albuquerque.
"It's cool because it's almost like the MacBook store in Uptown," he said.
Senior Laura Elterman said the center exceeded her expectations.
"It will be good for the Bookstore, although I don't think they're hurting for business," she said.
The Bookstore is promoting the technology center by giving away prizes donated by vendors. In addition to the Apple computer giveaway Monday, there will be drawings for two Dell Inspiron Mini 9 computers, two printers, iPods and other items.
The Bookstore will give away another MacBook to the winner of a naming contest for the center. The contest runs through Nov. 7.
"We really want a current student to come up with a cool idea for marketing it and for naming it," she said. "That's why we specifically did that drawing just for current students. We want the students to own this space."
To enter the contest, visit Bookstore.unm.edu.
