By AMANDA THOMAS

ajt008@latech.edu

 

The intense mood at the annual pumpkin carving contest could be felt by looking down the long table lined with pumpkin guts and quickly moving hands.

This atmosphere was generated by the third annual pumpkin carving contest, which was sponsored by Tech’s Food Service last Monday in the cafeteria.

Contestants were given 15 minutes to carve a face into a pumpkin in hopes of plumping their wallets with the cash prizes.

Mike Keys, Food Service manager, planned the pumpkin carving contest as a way for students to get involved on campus and as a way for busy students to celebrate Halloween.

“We want to make students feel good about Halloween,” Keys said.

Prizes were awarded for the best three pumpkins.

Keys said first place received $50, second place $30 and third place $20.

Master of ceremonies, Jason Frelot, works in the cafeteria and is also a local performer on the radio station 100.1 The Beat.

“The pumpkins are judged on how it looks, creativity, and how well it’s carved,” Frelot said.

One contestant, Brad King, a junior management major, had never carved a pumpkin before he entered in the contest.

King said he hoped to showcase his skills in his first-ever pumpkin carving contest.

“My pumpkin has definition, and that’s why it’s going to win,” King said.

Jasmine Washington, a junior communication design major, could not stop laughing while she carved her pumpkin.

Washington said she is a newcomer to the pumpkin carving world.

“I’ve never done this before, and now we only have 10 minutes left,” Washington said as she carved her pumpkin.

Sitting next to her was Nick Worzel, a freshman basic and career studies major, busy carving the Tech symbol into his pumpkin.

Worzel said he had some experience with carving pumpkins from when he used to carve pumpkins at home with his little brother.

Worzel however had a stroke of bad luck when his design collapsed on the table.

“My pumpkin’s too thin,” Worzel said. “I was trying to carve a Tech symbol, and it just broke.”

There was however a bit of luck for some contestants, such as first place winner Rick Guttenberg, a senior mechanical engineering major, for his traditional Jack-o-Lantern face.

When Guttenberg was handed his $50 in cash, he grabbed the microphone from the master of ceremonies and began to give a thank you speech.

“I’d like to thank my mom and my dad,” Guttenberg said.

Other winners included second place Elcharrita Reynolds, a freshman interior design major, and third place Marshelle Johnson, a junior sociology major.