A group of NDSU students earned second place at Odyssey of the Mind, a world competition of creative problem solving and teamwork skills.
The competition calls for out-of-the-box thinking to solve unusual challenges like building a mechanical device or presenting an interpretation of a literary classic.
This year, 900 teams from 43 states and 25 countries competed at the University of Maryland, College Park, May 27-30. At the college level, NDSU placed first in the U.S. and second in the world in their challenge area against seven teams in the final round of competition. A team from Poland took first.
Members of NDSU’s team included Danny Jenniges, a communication student from Delano, Minn.; Joanna Arnold, an education student also from Delano; Caitlin Dolezal a communication student from Redwood Falls, Minn.; and Ryan Borstelmann and Jake Tshida both communication students from Burnsville, Minn. Michael Burns, a doctoral student and communication instructor, coached the team.
The team began preparing for the competition in September after Odyssey presented long-term problems for teams to work on.
Each team selected one problem. NDSU chose Full Circle, which required creating a humorous skit about something that changes at least three times during the performance, with the final change being back to its original form. The skit also had to include a silly character, a serious character, a surprise ending and a costume made out of trash. The skit only could be eight minutes and teams could spend no more than $125 on costumes and props. To view NDSU’s skit, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mdlL6jdeYo.
The second portion of the competition included a spontaneous challenge where teams are asked to creatively solve problems on the spot. The problems range from creating a short skit to building a tower to hold objects or creating tools to maneuver objects around a room. Style, the third component of the competition, is a score on the overall look, feel and artistic quality of the team’s performance, acting, costumes and props. NDSU took first in both the long-term and style portions of the competition and fourth in spontaneous.
This was the first year NDSU has had an Odyssey of the Mind team for at least a decade according to Burns. The team’s skit performance at the world competition was the first time the team had performed in front of an audience. Since North Dakota has no other Odyssey teams, NDSU received a bye to the world competition.
“NDSU not only walked in as the new kids on the block, but they also made a name for themselves,” Burns said.
Burns would like to help develop more Odyssey teams in North Dakota. He says students can gain valuable skills. “A lot of students forget how to be creative,” Burns said. “These students will have an advantage once they get into the working world. They will know how to problem solve, deal with pressure and communicate their ideas.”
For more information on how to start an elementary, middle school or high school team, or join NDSU’s team, contact Burns at michael.burns@my.ndsu.edu or call (701) 231-7705.
For more information on Odyssey of the Mind, go to www.odysseyofthemind.com.
