Race to the Checkered Flag! by Rupa Reddy

It was ‘Go’ right from the first day of orientation for us MSCM students. Shuffling between attending to academic work and Tauber activities for the Summer Internships, we barely had time to settle in before the momentum picked up, quite typical of a race of every kind, don’t you think?

Amidst those hectic schedules, Tauber organized what one would have not typically thought of for a workshop on ‘teamwork and collaboration’, an activity that is perhaps one of the most valuable and fun teamwork sessions that I have attended till date – “The Pit Crew Challenge”. As the name suggests, we competed to be the fastest pit crew to change tires for a model race car. We were put in teams of five and members of a team assigned themselves to tasks that they were competitive at.

Everyone was in high spirits eager to name their teams. I ended up in an all-girl team and we decided on “Race Girls” for a team name. Our motive was unanimous and quite simple – outdo the guys on the other teams! All the teams aggressively worked their way to be the best by constantly improving their time with each of the three rounds. The garage was filled with positive energy as the teams learned from each other and all prepared to get their hands dirty. In the end, there was only one winner, and none was disheartened, as it was all about team spirit and collaboration, winning or losing was only an outcome.

For one thing, the “Pit Crew Challenge” was a splendid experience and an elating change from the everyday hustle and bustle, yet leaving us with an invaluable experience in team building. This workshop helped us understand the essence of team building in reaching a common goal and why every interviewer wants to know how we perform on a team. And now I’m pretty sure everyone has a story to tell, for the challenge was all about taking your crew through the race to the checkered flag! (Pun intended)

It was ‘Go’ right from the first day of orientation for us MSCM students. Shuffling between attending to academic work and Tauber activities for the Summer Internships, we barely had time to settle in before the momentum picked up, quite typical of a race of every kind, don’t you think?

Amidst those hectic schedules, Tauber organized what one would have not typically thought of for a workshop on ‘teamwork and collaboration’, an activity that is perhaps one of the most valuable and fun teamwork sessions that I have attended till date – “The Pit Crew Challenge”. As the name suggests, we competed to be the fastest pit crew to change tires for a model racecar. We were put in teams of five and members of a team assigned themselves to tasks that they were competitive at.

Everyone was in high spirits eager to name their teams. I ended up in an all-girl team and we decided on “Race Girls” for a team name. Our motive was unanimous and quite simple – outdo the guys on the other teams! All the teams aggressively worked their way to be the best by constantly improving their time with each of the three rounds. The garage was filled with positive energy as the teams learned from each other and all prepared to get their hands dirty. In the end, there was only one winner, and none was disheartened, as it was all about team spirit and collaboration, winning or losing was only an outcome.

For one thing, the “Pit Crew Challenge” was a splendid experience and an elating change from the everyday hustle and bustle, yet leaving us with an invaluable experience in team building. This workshop helped us understand the essence of team building in reaching a common goal and why every interviewer wants to know how we perform on a team. And now I’m pretty sure everyone has a story to tell, for the challenge was all about taking your crew through the race to the checkered flag! (Pun intended)