Annie Le | December 14, 2021

Tis the season! It’s been all hands on deck this year as we’ve tried to shape what has hopefully been a robust ITP experience for our students even in this remote environment. Now let’s take a peek into what ITP faculty and staff get up to around the holidays!

We went a little off-book this time and threw out the usual holiday themes. Completely. Forget the North Pole…this year we hit ancient Egypt.

Meet our experts in Murderology – minor/specialization pending – Jim and Julia from teambuilding.com (first row, left and center). The rest of us came in as aspiring Junior Murderologists. You might recognize several faces and I hope your SC experience ultimately leads you to meet them all. These are just a few of the faculty and staff who are constantly working to make ITP an amazing place to learn, teach, and work – Rob Parke, Jeff Miller, Annie Le (hi!), Tom Sloper, Trina Gregory (feat. the Gregory squad), Nitin Kale, and Eric Perez.

Murderologists Jim and Julia started us on our journey through a Murder in Ancient Egypt. We split into 2 teams (shoutout to Team Obelisk It for the Biscuit) and set out to solve an actual, true crime. Their knack for storytelling wove a tale so immersive that you could nearly feel the shifting sands around you and see the mummies come to life. They also provided us with character sheets so…that helped.

We solved codes and puzzles and scavenger hunts, battling against the rival team and against the 90 minutes we had on the clock. The goal? Win enough evidence to put the case together. “Game Master” Tom Sloper showed off his superior mind for Egyptian trivia. I’m pretty sure Trina + Co. broke the sound barrier in the lightning scavenger hunt. All to find out who dunnit? Why dunnit?? 

Our master Murderologists crafted an amazing reveal, but you won’t find any spoilers here. Though Team Obelisk It for the Biscuit (Annie, Nitin, Tom, Eric) wrecked the individual challenges, Team MMM (Jeff, Trina, and the Gregory Squad) came up with the correct “who” and “why” to win the game. You can probably tell from our embarrassingly immersed screenshot, but we all had a blast!

If you’re looking for something to do with family, friends, or teammates during this stay-at-home holiday season, take a look at teambuilding.com! If murder mysteries aren’t your thing, they have 19 different activities to choose from. They even have holiday events – Gingerbread Wars, Tiny Campfire smores time, Winter Cocktail Parties, and more! All you need is Zoom. Holiday beverages optional, but recommended.