Student Government Association held its first talent show, “Aggies Got Talent,” over the weekend and SGA members are calling the premiere event a success.
“It went really well, we had a really awesome turnout, especially for its first year and being on Valentine’s Day,” said event organizer and development commissioner Gracie Wood. “We kind of knew that was going to be a little bit of an uphill battle, but the crowd was really full and really energetic and loud so it was pretty exciting.”
Wood said the show, combined with the silent auction, made about $1,000 in profits.
“Rudder is expensive. We don’t have finals bills yet but everything all together will be about $2,800 to $3,000 [in expenses],” Wood said. “We made about $1,000 dollars [in profit] which is better than the golf tournament ever did. We sold around 500 tickets.”
SGA Public Relations Vice President Hannah Wimberly said she thought the event was a resounding success.
“We had so many wonderful talents and saw so much support from students and members of the community,” Wimberly said. “Kudos to the SGA Development Commission for making the first year of this event a great one.”
The winners were Ben Ikwuagwu, John Ohearne and Christina Freeman, who performed a mashup of songs by Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith.
Ikwuagwu, a general studies freshman, said he thought the show went well and that overall it was organized and entertaining.
“I love the idea of displaying the various talent we have here at A&M,” Ikwuagwu said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the growth of this competition over the years.”
Ohearne said he thought the performances were incredible and he feels the crowd played a big part in helping the group win.
“I have heard and seen Christina and Ben perform a few times so I knew they were outrageously talented, but so were many of the other acts,” Ohearne said. “I really think the crowd is what pushed us to victory, they were going crazy.”
Freeman, interdisciplinary studies senior, said the show blew her expectation out of the water.
“I was utterly astonished by the caliber of talent showcased by my fellow Aggies, especially at a school that doesn’t typically place a very large focus on the fine arts,” Freeman said. “The SGA, and especially Gracie Wood, did an exceptional job piecing this show together — you would have never know it was the first one.”
Wood said the show is likely to take place again next year and she is already trying to help next year’s coordinator by selecting a more ideal date than Valentine’s Day.