AS if running a marathon isn’t hard enough, students from City University College of Science and Technology in Petaling Jaya are doing it with an added challenge — zombies.
According to a student representative, adding zombies to the mix makes it more interesting. “Marathons motivate us to run but when there is an added obstacle like zombies, that makes it more entertaining and enjoyable.”
Some 40 students will take part in the run, which will be held on campus today. But this isn’t the first time the student body is participating in a themed event.
Last year’s competition was based on Hunger Games, the popular book and film series created by Suzanne Collins.
“Besides having fun, we also learnt how to stay focused and organised in order to achieve our goal in the Hunger Games.”
BRIDGING THE GAP
Revive Isotonic’s Masters of Rev Up challenge is aimed at tertiary students to get them involved in non-academic programmes which offer experiences to be used in their working life.
The students were put through a boot camp to help them turn Zombiethon into reality.
“We learnt how to manage and organise events, and have healthy discussions with team members and other stakeholders.”
One of the toughest parts of implementing Zombiethon is designing the logos, flyers and decorations. “We need to make sure that the design is elegant, and that the decorations flow nicely during the event.”
They also had to find sponsors and come up with a Plan B in case something goes wrong. But these tasks were made easier as they were divided into committees, with each person having their own set of responsibilities.
“Delegation allows each job to be done efficiently, quickly and accurately. We also learnt to organise by having daily meetings, discussing each step before moving on to the next.”
It isn’t all smooth sailing though, but as the saying goes, there’s always a silver lining.
“We learnt how to let go of our fear of rejection and defeat, and take the problems that we’ve encountered with a smile. And then we continue to work hard to make this event a successful one.”
Revive Isotonic’s Masters of Rev Up 2014 is part of the company’s corporate social responsibility programme.
It is an opportunity for students to experience and execute an event on their own and managing all aspects of an event such as marketing, logistics, financing and human resources.
It has attracted more than 4000 entries from institutions of higher learning in the country. Out of these entries, 16 finalists were chosen for their best “Rev’d Up” ideas to compete in the grand finale.
The winner of this year’s Masters of Rev Up 2014 challenge will win RM10,000 and a ‘Rev-up Zone’ make-over in their university, complete with a foosball table.
The winner also stands the chance to have an internship opportunity with Permanis Sandilands.