The Good Library hosted its third annual Geek Off last Friday, with the intention of displaying the unique and creative endeavors among the Goshen College community. The contest was open to students, faculty and staff, allowing them the opportunity to “geek out,” while also competing for prizes. The hourlong event saw a total of 15 participants, with 11 students showing out.

The criteria for entry consisted of personal creative projects outside of the classroom, with students being able to submit more than one piece. Virtual entries were accepted as well. The projects submitted included poetry, art and writing, music, crochet and knitting, pottery, and graphic design work to name a few.

The awards were judged based on creative originality, technical excellence and overall impression; contestants had the chance to win prizes of a Nintendo Switch Lite, an Elkhart County Comic Con weekend VIP ticket and two loot crate boxes. The awards were not assigned, per a normal contest; instead, the winners got to pick out which prize they wanted, in order of first place to third place.

First place was Summer Cooper, a senior exercise science major, with her crochet project. Cooper crocheted an exact replica of a Catan board, along with pouches to hold the game pieces. Teresa Ross-Richer, her teammate, filled in for the awards ceremony. This is Cooper’s second time winning the event.

“I love board games a lot,” Cooper said. “I wanted to use other hobbies I liked … I like crocheting and I love board games … [I] wanted to bring them together.”

Second place was Anastasia deFerbrache, a junior education major, with a Minecraft map of Goshen College, a project she’s been working on with her father and is still “a work in progress.” According to deFerbrache, this event gives an opportunity to show off a more niche type of art on campus is less seen, moving away from the traditional idea of ‘art.’

“Having … Geek Off for students who create art based on something that they enjoy like a show, video game or a collection, and not a landscape or portrait,” deFerbrache said,  “is something that I think lets students express themselves in the community.”

Third place was Theresa Rodriguez, a junior nursing major, with a YouTube video showcasing his Rubik’s Cube collection. The video includes a timelapse of 13 various types of cubes being solved and a time trial of solving a Rubik’s cube called “speed solving” — Rodriguez had a best time of 29.45 seconds.

“Doing things like Geek Off is kind of nice so that we can express our geekiness without being judged,” Rodriguez said. “It’s good for campus.”