The Mandel
Spotlight The Biannual Newsletter of The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Humanities Center At Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) Volume II, Issue I
Fall 2019
Orientation Scavenger Hunt Since the program’s inception, Mandel Scholars Academy students have entered via a traditional half-day orientation: icebreakers, PowerPoint presentations from administrators and sandwiches for lunch. Many participants thought of it as a “necessary evil;” information needed to be shared and forms needed to be signed. This was a way to do it. The problem, frankly, was that most people found it pretty boring, and few of the new students actually remembered any of the content afterward. In hopes of making the experience more enjoyable and more effective, the Mandel Center staff spent the summer of 2019 designing a much more ambitious orientation experience: a scavenger hunt featuring sites throughout downtown Cleveland.
The team identified 22 locations and created a leader’s guide with (frequently corny) clues, relevant information about the Mandel Scholars Academy and facts about the history of Cleveland for each site. At 9 a.m. on Aug. 24, nearly 100 new students arrived at the top level of Tri-C’s District Office garage, where they met the Mandel Center staff and 19 returning students and alumni. Working in groups of six to eight, each of which was led by a returning Mandel Scholar or an alumnus, the students solved the clues and made their way around downtown, ending with lunch at the Tri-C Hospitality Management Center on Public Square. Four locations featured short presentations from members of the Mandel team. Continued on page 4.
The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Humanities Center at Cuyahoga Community College 4250 Richmond Road, Highland Hills, Ohio 44122 | 216-987-2601 | mandelcenter@tri-c.edu