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Southside Virginia Community College’s students are finding creative ways to stay busy and engaged during COVID-19 social distancing.

April 15, Shenandoah University Esports program started the “Minecraft #stayandplay” competition. They welcomed all Virginia colleges to compete in “building” a replica or freebuild of their choice in various categories.

SVCC’s very own network server technician, Anthony Taylor, led three students in the pursuit of a win.

“The students really took this and ran with it,” Taylor said. “They were very engaged and productive.”

Students, Caleb Walker, Joshua Smith and Bradley Jones represented SVCC. Smith built a replica of SVCC’s Workforce Development Center on the John H. Daniel Campus in Keysville. Walker provided the detail to the virtual space. He also impressed Taylor and the judges with his replica of a giant SVCC Panther logo using more than 65,000 blocks.

“Caleb really represented our SVCC ‘Panther Pride’ through his technical prowess. The logo was very impressive,” Taylor said.

Southside Virginia Community College was joined in the competition by three other schools – Shenandoah University, Randolph College, and George Mason University. The schools had the option to submit in one of three categories: Favorite Place to Hangout on the Weekend with Friends, Best Campus Build, and Best Freebuild. Judges critiqued the four individual builds submitted. Southside won Best Campus Build. Favorite Place to Hangout and Best Freebuild went to Shenandoah University.

To view all of the entries and the judging, visit this link: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/617332307