During the event, midterms were upon many students, including me. Assignments continued to pile up, and so was our stress. However, there was also one very important thing to point out: it was around the end of Spooktober and HALLOWEEN was just around the corner.
And in order to relieve everyone at least temporarily from their busy schedules, our wonderful E-Plaza staff organized one of their yearly big events, the Halloween Party. During this two-hour virtual event, people are free to enter, leave any activities or games facilitated by the EP interns. A number of activities were held simultaneously at a time in separate breakout rooms. Having said that, I missed some of the fun but fret not as I made sure to include all games in the article.
Here are the activities held during the event.
Scavenger hunt
For this activity, we scavenge for certain items surrounding us to share with everybody else. The more items you manage to gather, the more points you get. For example, if the questioner asks for a ‘textbook,’ then you should look around your room to find a ‘textbook’ and bring it with you on-screen. Although I was not able to participate (I was invested into the Pictionary game at the time), at the very last moment, I remember people were carrying vegetables in their hands. I suppose everyone is living healthily these days.
Pictionary
Online software used
In this game, participants take turns drawing whatever word was given on their screens (with the theme being Halloween of course), and the others guess what the word is. We did have a point system but honestly, everyone was just having fun, trying their hardest to draw using a mouse, and struggling to guess from the “amazing” illustrations made by my peers. At one point, I was given the word ‘abstract,’ and my visual expression was so ‘amazing’ that no one got it right (you gain points by having people make correct guesses).
No cringe contest
I skipped this contest, but I think it would be something along the lines of people trying not to cringe whilst doing not-so-normal behaviors to break the opponent’s will. That was my speculation. I decided not to participate because I knew I would have experienced internal suffering from all the cringe, although for sure I missed a lot of laughs and fun.
Granny’s House
game played
E-Plaza interns also facilitated a meeting for people to play a mobile game called “Granny’s House.” I heard that the game was about cooperating with other players to escape the “Granny’s House,” where you are locked in.
Haunted houses
I missed Granny’s House but I did join a trip to Haunted Houses. A virtual experience of haunted houses. We were watching videos featuring other people’s experiences through a screen. It was personally not scary (not sure with all of you), but I got to see a variety of props, jump scares, etc.
Ghost storytelling
I am not very good at storytelling verbally so during this activity, I was mostly listening to everyone’s ghost stories and giving reactions in the chat box. People were taking turns telling not only scary narratives, but also their own experiences with ghosts and such.
Bingo game
We also had a bingo game with each cell filled with either Halloween, E-Plaza, or recent trends-related phrases. At this point, the event was going towards its end, so this activity did help calming participants down after all the excitement.
Costume contest
The final activity was the long-awaited costume contest. Prior to the event, participants were required to send a submission of themselves in a Halloween costume. The organizers then would decide the top 3 winners. There were also prizes for the during-event costume contest. Although many people decided to have either light make-up or put on simple Halloween-like outfits, there were also some who really went all-out. One girl was dressed up as Himiko Toga in Boku no Hero Academia. She was so impressive.
Winner of the competition
Overall thoughts
This yearly event organized by EP team is usually held on campus, but due to the current situation, the EP team was adaptable enough to move it online.
The event was nothing short of fun and amazing! At any point during the event, there were around 30~ people. A portion of participants, including me, was not showing faces, but that definitely did not take away the joy and the Halloween atmosphere at all.
The on-campus event would have been great for sure, but still, the virtual was still beyond amazing, and I was able to meet GREAT people at a GREAT event.
Tin: “Okay, let’s start with the foundation. Can you tell me what Hult Prize TIU is all about?”
Sabrina: “Hult Prize is a social entrepreneurship event that partners with Hult International Business School and United Nations Office for Partnerships, where students get a chance to answer the United Nations [annual] challenge and build the next game changing startup!”
Motivation
Tin: “What was your motivation when you decided to make Hult Prize TIU happen?”
Sabrina: “Yes! So, I was motivated to make Hult Prize TIU happen because… It was actually because I stumbled upon an article from one of my friends. It told how she was inspired to join the regionals and I thought I might as well join so I was just like open the website and then applied, and I didn’t even remember I applied and they called me back to do an interview and it just kinda happened even though I did not really know about Hult Prize at that time, honestly.”
Theme
Tin: “I heard that Hult Prize has a theme every year, so can you tell me a little bit about this year’s theme?”
Sabrina: “Yes, thank you for that question. So this year’s theme is “Food for Good” where students are challenged to transform food into vehicles of changes and solve one or more of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). They will also need to be able to create jobs, stimulate economies, reimagine supplychain, and improve outcome for 10 million people by 2030, which is a big challenge”
The experience: organizer & participant
Tin: “So, within Hult Prize TIU, I suppose that there are two main groups: the organizers and the participating teams. Can you tell me about your experience as an organizer? For example, did you have fun? How was it like coordinating people and surpassing challenges together?”
Sabrina: “YES! At first, it was like 100% motivation and in the middle of it, sometimes people get demotivated because you have done a lot but then things do not go as expected. In the beginning, we had a hard time finding team members. During the first two weeks, there were like only 2 teams but then we needed to reach the minimum of 10 teams, which was a lot right? Also, we had a hard time finding judges at first. We didn’t know where to search for them […] However, as we continued to progress, we gathered a lot more people and are working towards the next months on the high note.”
Tin: “I see, I see. That was very interesting. Well, I would say that as long as you enjoy doing it and things work out in the end, all good. That being said, although I do not know whether it is fine for you to talk on behalf of the participating teams, can you tell me what their experience could be like?”
Sabrina: “Oh, alright. This might have been due to miscommunication by me, but they were probably kind of unsure at first because the challenge was slightly ambiguous. They did ask me a lot like how could I do the abstract, how could I do the google form and everything. I see they have a lot of passion, but probably need more direction from the organization team back then. However, as we reach the end of the registration period, things have lightened up a bit. They are now more engaging and more explicitly passionate about their projects […] Another thing is that they may find Hult Prize, or building a business from scratch, is kind of difficult and scary.
A training session
Tin: “Yeah, I know that feeling. But if I recall correctly, Hult Prize is not about building a business, but rather about sharing the ideas of your business first, right?”
Sabrina: “Exactly! That is perfectly correct. You know, why don’t you join Hult Prize TIU, since you know that much?”
Tin: “Haha, thanks for the offer, but I think my back is hurt enough with all the work and assignments I got”
Sabrina: “Well, can’t really force you, haha”
A bridge between Jtrack and Etrack?
Tin: “I am just wondering, but since TIU is composed of both J-track and E-track students, are you guys planning to attract more people that speak mostly Japanese?”
Sabrina: “We are currently also working to attract J-track students to our circle. So, 2 weeks ago, we did talk in J-track classes. Currently, we have only 2 team members and 1 organizing member from the J-track program. Although there are not many at this point, I personally think that it is already an achievement for us. Hopefully next year, there will be more J-track students coming.”
Virtual events
Tin: “As many events are being moved to virtual, did Hult Prize TIU face any difficulties?”
Sabrina: “That’s a good question. So, I think the main problem of doing this virtually is that we would not be able to spread the passion. It may not seem as real. And since we can not meet with our judges, our mentors, it does not feel as personal. And of course to the organizing committees and the participating team too. But, there are positive things. For example, we do everything online now. We are able to ask speakers or judges from all over the world[…] It is also easier for them in terms of transportation. Also, there is no need to cover the decoration materials and stuff like that.”
Tin: “Oh ok, nice to learn new things from your experience” Sabrina: “It’s really not that much, haha”
A message from Sabrina
——It is OK to make a mistake. Join an organization and do as many things as you can because you will probably be a student only once, so you need to utilize that as much as you can——
Sabrina: 「はい、質問をありがとう。今年のテーマは「Food for Good」です。学生たちは食料を通して、一つ、または複数の持続可能な開発目標（SDGs）を取り組みます。具体的に言うと、２０３０年までに、１千万人のに仕事を創出し、経済を刺激し、サプライチェーンを新たに創造し、生活を改善する必要があります。なかなか壮大なチャレンジだと自分も思います」
Hello everyone. This is the OFFCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT of the launch of SLI Website. We will start strong and fast. So, keep your eyes open as great contents are coming your way.
Times Of TIU 