The Rose Parade, a knitting project to help cancer patients and final exams top President Ortiz’s final weekly video message of the quarter.

This New Year’s will mark the 66th consecutive year that the Cal Poly Universities will have a float in the parade. The campus community can get a preview of this year’s rose float, “Bedtime Buccaneers,” at Rose Day this Thursday, Dec. 5, at University Park.

If you’re interested in helping out with the rose float, volunteers are needed to cook a meal or donate canned or dry goods for the students working on the float Dec. 14-21. Volunteers are also needed for Decoration Week, Dec. 26-31 in Pasadena.

Ortiz also praised the efforts of Knitting Rays of Hope, a group that was started by staff in the College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences to knit hats during their break for cancer patients.

The president concluded by wishing students the best of luck heading into finals and encouraging them to pursue whatever inspires them.

To read the entire video message, download a PDF of the transcript.