By Hadassa Ferreira, Contributing Writer
The Talent showcase is a traditional Family Weekend event that happens every year. This time, the event happened on Oct. 21 and gathered several students to present their talents. Parents had the opportunity to watch different presentations held by solo students and artistic groups.
The event holds presentations of diverse modalities such as singing, dancing, poetry, and even stand-up comedy. It is a great environment that spreads culture in all its facets. Students from different backgrounds join to bring diversity and amusement to the campus.
“I liked the event because it means a time for you to know what talents people you walk past every day have” said Juddy Raphael, a freshman majoring in computer science. “The dance team, for example, I see one of the dancers all the time and did not know she was also a good singer.”
One of the presentations that really represented the concept of the Family Weekend event was the performance from Pam Waitkevich, a senior majoring in psychology and theater. She is the third person in her family to attend Saint Leo University and five members of her family were at the event to honor her and the students. Her presentation was a stand-up comedy that received a lot of laughs from the audience.
The talent show is a fantastic opportunity for the students to show not only their talents but their background and the things they value. All the performances were based on artistic elements that were meaningful for the students on a personal level. Through their presentations, it was possible to understand more about their personalities and the things they value.
“For me, I love performing and I think it is really cool, it is a good opportunity specially to show our culture,” said Shania Cartwright, a junior majoring in criminal justice who also performed in the Tropics dance team’s presentation. “I loved to be on the stage today.”
An amazing fact of the event is that in a university with a considerable part of its student body being international, it is possible to experience different cultural aspects since international students tend to perform according to their home culture.
During this event, there were some presentations with an international background. Isa Riano, a sophomore who is majoring in psychology and has a Hispanic heritage, sang one of Javier Solis’ songs. Javier Solis was a Mexican singer, and she chose the song because it uses nature to exalt the beauty in women. It was very engaging, and the audience loved the diversity.
“The presentation I liked the most so far was the lady singing in Spanish. It was something different that we do not see every day” said Jude Moss, a sophomore majoring in economics.
One of the performances that got the audience excited was a duet cover of the song “What I’ve been looking for” from the Disney movie “High School Musical”. Two seniors, Juli Turell, who is double majoring in theatre and psychology, and Jadyn Blackstock, who is majoring in theatre, joined to sing Sharpay and Ryan Evans’ famous song. For sure, it was a movie that highlighted childhood and teenagehood for a big part of new adults from this generation, which was proven by the way the audience warmly received the presentation.
“I really enjoyed their performance because it reminded me of my childhood and all the joys that came with being a child,” said Keleah Stubbs, a freshman majoring in healthcare administration.
Events such as the Talent Showcase are good to create a sense of belonging to campus and it is an opportunity for the students, parents, and community to get involved with art. Beyond that, it connects the students with the university since it displays the university’s commitment to supporting the student’s talents and wishes.
“I feel this type of event really helps students to socialize, make more friends, and experience new things on campus,” said Naomi Batista, a freshman majoring in political science.
Undoubtedly, the Talent showcase was an amazing event where the students, faculty, parents, and local community could participate in an artistic night that shared diverse cultural perspectives and increased the connection between everyone.
