From the Nominator

Each year on Day of Giving, alumni, faculty, staff, donors, and community members unite to raise funds to support the Metropolitan State University (MSU) of Denver students and programs. Our 2023 Day of Giving theme was video games. We created an 8-bit version of our mascot, Rowdy the Roadrunner, and re-created a scene of the original Super Mario Nintendo game with our mascot instead of Mario. The video’s goal was to get people excited for Day of Giving, and we were extremely successful; it was such a hit that the creator of Super Mario retweeted and wished us luck with our campaign. MSU Denver Day of Giving 2023 was our most successful Day of Giving ever, raising over $275,000 and exceeding our internal and external goals for dollars raised and total donors. The funds raised were a 24.3% increase over the previous year. The number of donors was a 37.6% increase over the previous year.

From the Judges

This video stands out for its creative integration of images through coding. It merges nostalgic elements with modern relevance. It’s a fun, engaging way to showcase technical prowess and artistic flair.