Frostburg State University Students Lead PAS @ Grantsville in Mystery-Solving Activity

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

Volunteers from Frostburg State University (FSU) recently led a mystery-solving activity at Partners After School @ Grantsville. Students were guided through a series of activities designed to help them answer the questions: who, what, when, and where? concerning the disappearance of a pumpkin.

“I was really impressed with the activity the FSU students developed,” said Venessa Stacy, PAS Director, “it was a great addition to the PAS club’s activities.”

Teresa Wolf served as project lead for the FSU team, which also included Brayden Bowman and Keely Knotts.

“I volunteered with the Garrett County Health Department in the past through my high school Youth in Action group, so when we were tasked with finding volunteer work, I knew just who to call,” Wolf said. The project was part of an assignment for a leadership class (MGMT 356 Leadership and Power in Global Organizations). Students were tasked with applying the leadership theories they learned in class to volunteer work in their community.

“In the business pathway at FSU, critical thinking and problem solving is a must-have,” Wolf explained. “We wanted to create an activity that would encourage the students to use facts and reasoning to solve problems. So, we designed an autumn mystery revolving around a missing pumpkin. The activity consisted of a brainstorming session, character sketching, clue stations, and a game of detective tag.”

Each PAS student was given a badge and became an honorary member of the PAS Detective Squad tasked with finding Mrs. Autumn’s missing pumpkin. They were led through a series of activities, each designed to answer the major questions of the case: what happened to the pumpkin, who moved it, when was it moved, and where is it now?

“It was an impressive display of collaboration between students to unite around a common goal of solving the mystery,” Wolf said. “The students were thinking critically and creatively to come up with solutions that even we had not considered in our planning. This experience was extremely valuable; we learned so much from working with the PAS club and are grateful for the opportunity.”

“All the students, both PAS and FSU, had a wonderful time working on solving the mystery,” Stacy said. “What a great way to stretch their minds as they learn to work together on a project!”

Although PAS @ Grantsville currently does not have any vacant spots, interested 3rd-5th graders may be added to the waiting list by calling 240-321-8619. The club meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:10-6pm at Grantsville Elementary School.

Cutline: Students at the PAS club at Grantsville Elementary School were recently treated to a mystery-solving activity created for them by FSU students. Pictured with the “no longer missing pumpkin” are Cole Miller, Marley Rumer, and Hadley Brinegar.