For the past three years, the Golden Cardinal search has been a staple for A-Week particpants. A small, three-pound metal cardinal is hidden on campus, and a new clue is published each day of A-Week leading students one step closer to finding it. This year, the Golden Cardinal was hidden in the brush at the bottom of the Garland Parking Garage.

On the third day of A-Week, just an hour after the third clue was published, two decicated searchers found the Golden Cardinal and claimed the prize. Freshman Andrea Sikora and Katie Tucker (pictured above) were ecstatic to be the ones to bring home the cardinal.

Tucker, an incoming marketing freshman from Dallas, Texas, said she had been looking for the cardinal since she heard about it Monday evening at the New Student Cookout. 

"When I first heard about the Golden Cardinal Competition, I was excited for just a simple scavenger hunt and for the thrill to see if I could find it. Yes, the prizes sounded incredible, but it was also a fun challenge for me," Tucker said.

Sikora, a marketing freshman from Eillicott City, Maryland, became interested in searching for the Golden Cardinal when Tucker told her about it after just meeting the night before. 

When asked about how they narrowed down where to look and ultimately find the Golden Cardinal, Sikora said, "I think the plants surrounded by concrete clue (day three) was the most helpful. I kept looking under things because it said leave no rock unturned, and that's when I saw it in the tree trunk." 

To learn more about the Golden Cardinal and view all of this year's clues, visit AWeek.com/Golden-Cardinal.