A Night to Remember
The Rutgers Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program continued our tradition of celebrating the holidays with students, alumni, staff, and faculty. On December 19th, we celebrated the end of another fantastic semester at The Rutgers Club. The event came as students wrapped up their finals, a worthy cause for celebration.
The event coincided with the second night of Hannukah, so we served latkes and jelly donuts in addition to our delicious dinner menu. A live band played holiday music, and the room was filled with chatter and laughter. Students met professors, staff, and each other, some for the first time in person. They shared advice on which classes to take, discussed plans for the break, and wished each other luck in the next semester. There were over 100 people in attendance!
After years of virtual events, there were many appreciated connections.
We also raffled off holiday gifts. No student left empty-handed—all were provided MBS swag and chocolate goody bags.
The night ended at 8 p.m., and many students lingered to the very end. It was hard to say goodbye! But we hope to offer more opportunities for in-person connection in the coming semester.
The Celebration Continues: Gather.Town!
The fun didn't stop there. The next night, we continued an MBS tradition of hosting a virtual holiday celebration on Gather.town.
Gather combines video chatting with video game mechanics, allowing users to design their avatars and interact with a virtual environment. It can be used to create corporate offices, university campuses, and even birthday parties. Your character can interact with the environment, video chat with others nearby, and even join multiplayer games. The platform also has a nostalgic art style, mimicking old-school video games through its pixel art.
Gather offers a glimpse into what the metaverse may look like—a virtual world that allows for interaction and connection.
We turned the virtual meeting space into an escape room! Players entered a snowy landscape, passing faculty, staff, and students conversing. They could visit a cozy lodge to join multiplayer games and transverse through a portal to enter the escape room.
Trapped on an island after a shipwreck, teams had to find their way through a jungle to reach safety. Non-playable characters (NPCs) offered a storyline and hints. Puzzles included:
- Finding hidden objects
- Word puzzles
- Parsing clues from NPC dialogue
- Crafting potions that give your characters abilities
- Discovering forms for real-life prizes!
The night brought teamwork, collaboration, innovation, problem-solving, and plain old fun!