Student Development offered a fun Halloween for students with remote movie viewing parties and virtual contests in three different categories: costumes, pet costumes, and pumpkin carvings.

This year, the Student Development team had to think of a way to engage students virtually. “We decided to plan out different things that students could do that would be fun and still safe. The contest allows students to show off their creativity, and with several kinds of contests, it made it open to students with different interests,” Barry Congressi, Coordinator of Student Development Poinciana campus said.

The winner of the costume category was student Angelique Guillermo, majoring in Graphic Design. “My costume was that of a forest spirit with the costume being hand made all the way down to the accessories and the ribbons on the shoes. It took a lot of work and time to complete it and I’m really happy with how it came out. I’m really surprised I won the contest but happy nonetheless,” explained Guillermo.

Brandon Armstrong, a Mathematics Professor at Valencia College, was one of the judges of the costume contest. “I would have loved to have seen these in real life to be able to get a better feel of the overall look and presentation.  I love helping Student Development with events like this because it gives the students and myself a chance to interact outside of the boring classroom,” Armstrong said.

In the pet costume category, Chihuahua Sage took first place with a Waldo costume from the puzzle book series “Where’s Waldo?”. Her owner, Trinity Tresner, a Political Science major, had a lot of fun producing the pictures. “It was so much fun to dress her up! She is a very good girl, and it was super easy to get good photos of her. She is the sweetest dog I know. I had a great time bonding with her and laughing at how adorable and silly she looked,” said Tresner.

Nicole Briceno, majoring in General Studies, took second place in the pumpkin carving category with a very current theme. “The inspiration for my pumpkin was definitely the pandemic we are currently experiencing. I helped my mom place the skeletons with masks on, and make signs on ways to be safe against COVID-19. I thought carving out ‘Be Safe’ on my pumpkin would go great with my entire theme. Everyone in my neighborhood loved it,” Briceno said.