The Fulbright community including students from the Co-Design Year, faculty and staff took part in the Fulbright Endgame sporting event hosted by the student-led Food and Fitness Club. The event was organized with the aim of building bonds and providing a sporting playground for the campus to let loose on after a hard-working year.
All of the activities from preparation to game time were tailored to strengthening relationships and spreading the “co-design” spirit. The student organizers were in charge of planning, designing the activities, budgeting for the event, liaising with vendors and signing up participants.
Each member had to come up with at least one activity and write a clear description of it. They could be as creative as they wanted to at this point. Then, they had a meeting to narrow down the list and make adjustments to make it possible to organize and fun-filled day.
Participants were divided into two houses: Jabali and Panthera. They had their own flags and mascots in the traditional Fulbright colors of blue and yellow. They also had slogan and time to strategize for the event. The finale involved a tug-of-war for the houses to battle for their colors, and the team spirit was evident and both teams chanted their names as they dug deep for victory.
After lighthearted competitions, Panthera emerged glorious and had their house flag flown across campus. Bui Khanh Minh – Panthera’s leader – proudly said: “The heat was on, but we all tried our best. The games were so Fulbright-ish: all of them required teamwork and some of the victories were down to how well we know each other, both academically and on a personal level.”
As one of the organizers, Pham Nguyen Dan Tam found herself nervous before the big day, especially about the different games that had the potential to go wrong or participants finding themselves bored at the event.
“However, when the day finally came, those fears turned out to be unfounded. The games weren’t flawless and we made some unexpected mistakes. But everyone got the best out of the experience and enjoyed it as a fun team-building occasion rather than a serious competition,” she said.
Nguyen Nho Thuc Khang, an exuberant participant, said the Fulbright Endgame had been an invaluable opportunity for Co-Designers to express their friendship. “After nine months, we are no longer individuals full of uncertainty and anxiety. We are one. Our different characteristics slot together to complete the comprehensive Fulbright picture.” She tweeted a quote from one of her classes that served as a conclusion:
“If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.”
