WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Not many people can say they can walk on water, but these second-year architecture students at Florida International University need to do in order to get a good grade in the class.
“So they give us a piece of Styrofoam at the beginning of class, and we have to make a design and everything– the process of how we’re going to do it,” said Brianna, a student, “the colors, a theme, a name.”
It’s the 33rd year of this fun event.
“If we don’t fall, then we get an A in the class, which I really need right now,” said Giorgio de la Gracia.
“The purpose of the assignment is for the students to design and build shoes to be able to cross the lake 175 feet,” said Jaime Canaves, a professor in the School of Architecture at FIU. “The purpose is for them to research materials, put them together and solve the problem of floating and walking, and if they’re successful, they get an A.”
It’s also quite competitive.
The first one to get across gets $1,000, and if they break the record, it’s an additional $1,000.
This year’s winner was Andre Morgan.
“It feels great, man. I just finished first and broke a record too. Hopefully it stays for another two years maybe,” Morgan said. “I was training pretty much every other day just for the event and trying to get ready as best I can.”
Morgan said he’s going to put that money towards tuition and maybe a little splurging.
The rest of the students who crossed got an A. If they fell and swam across the lake with the shoes they got a C, and if they fell and gave up, it was a straight F.
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