On Friday, March 9th, Foothill College’s social entrepreneurship club Enactus hosted its first ever talent show, Foothill’s Got Talent. The event served as a fundraiser for sending Enactus members to Mindoro — an island in the Philippines — over the summer, where they hope to complete several service leadership projects. This includes building a functional and self-sustained water system for an elementary school, designing a compost business for a local high school, and teaching high school senior students how to start a small business in the Philippines. The high school students will participate in a “Shark-Tank” like competition, and the winners will earn a one year scholarship to a local college of their choice.

The event began at 4:30 p.m. outside Appreciation Hall. DJ Denis Taniguchi greeted students who entered the hall with electric hip hop vibes: the show-goers were provided with free food and encouraged to sign a poster with words of encouragement that would be brought to students in the Philippines. After everyone was seated, MCs Emily Aung and Pavini Sethi took to the stage, welcoming students and explaining the purpose of the talent show. Foothill faculty and staff, including Foothill President Thuy Nguyen, joined the students in attendance. Below is a short description of each performer and their act, in order. Each song or dance performance was accompanied by mesmerizing graphics from the backdrop screen.

Mean Promphao

Mean’s act consisted of a lively singing performance featuring Perfect Illusion by Lady Gaga. When asked how he was capable of displaying so much energy and passion, he replied, “I want everyone to feel like you don’t always have to study, you can enjoy your time here.”

Michael Frier

Frier performed a song by playing a box drum, accompanied with his own electronic music and singing.

Kelvin Hsueh

Hsueh performed an epic dance in a style known as popping, accompanied by electronic music. After his dance, an audience member named Andrew came up to the stage and performed an off the cuff popping dance as well, prompting a mini dance-off between the two dancers.

Sean Lim

Lim started playing music when he was five years old, and can be seen playing the piano and the guitar in the cafeteria often. He played Havana by Camila Cabello and Perfect by Ed Sheeran.

“Hobo Jay” (also known as Jashan Chahal)

Chahal performed a hilarious comedy routine using powerpoint slides and clever wordplay. It could best be described as a series of non-stop double takes.

Riya Arora

Arora has been dancing for 6 years. She performed a Bollywood-Kathak fusion dance, a traditional Indian style of dance.

Gita Malapatti

Malapatti, a music major and ASFC senator, gave a heartfelt performance in which she sang Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson.

David Asplund

Asplund performed a last minute improv stand-up comedy routine to buy time for the next performer, whose car broke down. He joked about his hatred for Pokemon Go and experiences traveling to places like China.

Oscar Ramirez

Ramirez presented a song incorporating the use of a synthesizer and singing.

Trinity Suh

Suh recited a moving slam poem “If Pigeons were Angels,” a free verse poem she wrote in response to the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida. She has written multiple novels and has her own blog.

After the final performance, audience members were asked to vote on their favorite act. The winners were announced a few minutes later alongside an appointed confetti-thrower to add to the celebration. Trinity Suh won third place for her heartfelt poetry, Jashan Chahal took second place for his hilarious comedy, and Kelvin Hsueh won first for his mesmerizing dance moves.

When asked how he felt about his victory, Hsueh said, “I feel great, I feel wonderful… I feel amazing!” At the end of the award ceremony, many of the performers, event coordinators, and audience members formed a dance circle while Denis provided some beats.

After the event, I asked Sethi if there were more talent shows planned for the future. She replied, “For sure! We want to make this kind of a tradition, and get it bigger and better next time, and start advertising earlier.” She also had words of encouragement for students who may consider applying in future talent shows, saying “Don’t be nervous. Don’t think of it as performing — just think of it as giving a gift to the audience, like sharing joy and love and passion.”

The performances inspired some audience members to start thinking about their own talents. Ebrahim Feghi, a cognitive science major at Foothill, said the performance by Suh moved him and got him thinking about poetry. “I used to be really into poetry as well — I don’t think I’d ever have the confidence to do it like that but maybe I’ll start writing for myself. Maybe next talent show you might see me up there!”

If you want to be notified of the next talent show or other club events, keep up to date with the Enactus Facebook page.