TRIO staff ran the event on the second floor of Collier Library, across from the TRIO offices. Students were encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes for the event, and the event organizers offered snacks and drinks for those in attendance.
Students got a chance to mingle, eat and listen to Halloween music for around fifteen minutes before the event officially began. Participants were then split into two groups at random to compete against each other in a spooky game.
Each group was given a murder mystery board game, and they had an hour to try to solve the case. The teams selected a leader to write down clues on a whiteboard, and each person was given a piece of evidence to analyze and discuss with their team.
The suspense rose when the timer got close to zero and neither team had solved their case, but one of the teams, led by Director of TRIO Student Support Services Autumn Terry, solved their case with less than 30 seconds to spare.
The event was designed to be a fun and educational experience for those in attendance, and it did just that.
“The purpose of the Murder Mystery Night event was two-fold,” said Terry. “We wanted to offer an event for our TRIO students that was fun and engaging while also teaching them valuable skills. This event taught critical thinking, teamwork and time management. I believe this event was very successful, and the TRIO team looks forward to hosting future events like this!”
TRIO students who went to the event had fun socializing and working together in a team setting.
“It was a lot of fun,” said A.J. Woodard, who attended the event. “I got to know a lot more people. It definitely had me thinking.”
As a Halloween-centered event, the suspense of a time limit helped to set the tone for the evening, and it also brought out students’ competitive nature.
“We got done like ten seconds before it was about to be over, so it was really close,” said Savannah Hendrick, an attendee who was in the winning group.
For many students, the event served as an opportunity to practice working with others to achieve a common goal.
“My favorite part was the teamwork aspect,” said Kens Baldwin, another student from the winning group. “Not to brag or anything, but the team I was on won. It was fun! I love these kinds of things. It reminds me of an escape room.”
For those interested in TRIO and the resources they offer, visit their website at una.edu.
