MORRISVILLE, NY—Teams of four students had 18 minutes and a few simple rules. Their task: to build the tallest freestanding tower out of 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of tape, one yard of string and one marshmallow, which had to be on top.
Dyllon Amodio, a student from West Genesee High School, and his teammates, relied on the string as the main component that helped them master their challenge and take home a win.
The “Marshmallow Challenge” team-building activity was part of a visit from MedQuest, a camp hosted by SUNY Upstate for Central New York students in grades 11 and 12, seeking science and health-related careers.
MSC’s nursing department and CSTEP (Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program) hosted the students for an afternoon to help them gain a better look at MSC and a host of science and health-related careers.
The group of 24 high school students was introduced to the college’s sophisticated nursing simulation lab and had a chance to talk to nursing faculty, tour the college’s CSTEP facility and check out the college’s facilities and program offerings.
They also participated in team-building and career-specific activities aimed at raising their communication, problem-solving, and creative skills.
Susan Caraher, assistant professor in MSC’s nursing department, was among faculty supervising a team-building activity called “Save Sam.”
Four-member teams were tasked to save Sam, a gummy worm who can’t swim, after his boat (a paper cup) capsized. The only tools they could use to retrieve a life jacket (a gummy life saver), for him to float to shore, were paperclips. They weren’t allowed to touch Sam, the boat, or the life preserver with their bare hands.
The afternoon ended with a barbecue with members of the campus community.
Morrisville State’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
In addition to being named to the 2014 President’s Higher Community Education Service Honor Roll, the college was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as an institution in the top tier of the Best Regional Colleges list and ranked second among regional colleges nationwide for outperforming its anticipated graduation rate.