Resident Life: time, trivia, and tournaments bring fun to dorm residents

As the spring semester began to ramp up and students found themselves faced with early spring fatigue, residents of the dorms found themselves with opportunities to relieve pent-up stress. The residence hall hosted a memorable time capsule boxing, a fast-paced trivia pop-off and a heart-pounding Mario Kart tournament throughout the week.

Resident assistants laid out coloring materials for residents in the theatre room at 6 p.m. Monday evening. With markers and colored paper in hand, residents put their favorite memories from the first half of the academic year into the time capsule.

Hannah Warwick and Rhett Sandquist write out their thoughts about the fall semester and their wishes for the spring semester. As of this semester, Sandquist joins Warwick among the residence hall staff.

"It was fun to vibe with my friends and listen to TikTok videos while I draw," said Hannah Warwick, the third-floor resident assistant.

While only four students attended, Rhett Sandquist, a first-year carpentry student at NIC and new Resident Assistant in the hall, said he felt his first program was a success. 

"I put this event on so that students can remember all the fun they had during a literal global pandemic," said Sandquist.

The time capsule will be opened in May for residents to see how much will change in the coming spring months. 

On Tuesday evening at 6 p.m., the theater room was opened again for random trivia night. In the fast-pasted competition, residents were quizzed on random science, history, sports, geography, arts and entertainment knowledge.

Addison Ribordy shouts out her trivia answer in response to Raegan McCrady's trivia question. 

The competition was a race to see which resident would gain 10 points the fastest. Other students could steal points from each other by answering quickly.

"The energy in the room is upbeat and kind of crazy," said Dolly Kiesz, a second-year resident studying nursing. "It's exactly what I need to release stress from my homework and studies."

Attendance was unexpectedly high according to Gray Pocius, the Resident Assistant who hosted the event, adding to the exciting atmosphere.

"I think it's fun to learn new things through competitions like this," Pocius said.

When the points were tallied, Taryn Vanderwiel won the first-place prize of a $50 gift card to an establishment of her choice. Addison Ribordy won second-place and Nolan Casey won third place. 

"I feel so excited because I don't really win stuff that much, if ever," Vanderwiel said. "This was exciting to participate in, even if I wouldn't have won."

Sam Sorensen and Willey Dowler race each other in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch. Sorensen brought his Switch to the event in order for others to pass time while they waited for their turn in Mario Kart Wii.

The theater room was opened again on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. when Resident Assistant Josh Heuvel turned on the hall's Wii system for a friendly Mario Kart Wii tournament. 

"There is no prize for this tournament," said Heuvel. "It's just a fun competitive thing to do as friends." 

"My motto is to go fast and eat dust when I'm playing Mario Kart," said Summer Gower, a first-year student studying Education at NIC.