This is the 33rd year the "Walking on Water" competition has been held at FIU as part of Professor Jaime Canaves’ Materials & Methods of Construction course. As reported by WSVN Miami , "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."

Winners receive $1,000 plus another $1,000 bonus if they can surmount the record, while those whose shoes do not succeed can either swim the expanse in the event for a C grade or, "if they fell and gave up, it was a straight F," reports Dannielle Garcia of WSVN.

Walking on Water at FIU. Video courtesy of FIU The College Tour.

According to Canaves, “The purpose of the assignment is for the students to design and build shoes to be able to cross the lake 175 feet." Students were tasked with researching materials and "put them together and solve the problem of floating and walking, and if they’re successful, they get an A.”