Sweet Designs
OWU’s Office of Marketing and Communication won top honors for creating a gingerbread Elliott Hall. (Photo by Sara Stuntz)
As the weather turns cold and the holidays are upon us, staff and faculty members at OWU have made the season even more festive. Departments from all over campus entered a contest, calling for them to put a unique spin on the traditional gingerbread house. The entrants created a representation of a mini OWU, featuring several different campus locales and buildings. Fourteen entries were submitted and were on display in the atrium of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center for people to admire and cast votes for their favorites. Leslie Melton, Director of Career Services, coordinated the contest.
“I was excited about everyone’s energy and enthusiasm,” she says.
Jackie Harmony from OWU’s Public Safety office says everyone there pitched in to help create their entry. “It was a lot of fun.”
More than 200 students and staff members voted on their favorites. The winning entry was submitted by the Marketing and Communication office for their creation of Elliott Hall. The library staff received a second place award for their Beeghly Library rendition, and third place went to the Mowry Alumni Center gingerbread house. The Marketing and Communication office received a $25-dollar donation for the charity of their choice—People in Need—along with Santa Bishop beanies for themselves. Second- and third-place teams received the beanies and gift cards to Chartwells dining.
The winning team, comprised of Sara Stuntz, Ida Mostofi, Lindsay Mauter, and Doug Thompson spent an impressive 37 hours on their gingerbread house, including baking and decorating time. “Getting to do something fun together was the best part” says Stuntz. They are very excited about their win and said they were impressed with all of the creative entries.
“We have a lot of creative people on campus and we can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with next year,” says Stuntz.