After months of planning, 16-and-a-half hours of audition tryouts and 19 acts, the A&M Student Government Association’s talent show fundraiser will be under the spotlight in Rudder Auditorium on Saturday.
The talent show, called Aggies Got Talent, will feature various student acts, including from country-western dancing, cello music and a host of singers.Funds from ticket sales and a silent auction at the event will go toward SGA’s 14 organizations, including CARPOOL, The Big Event and Muster Committee.
Grace Dansby, development commissioner for SGA, said the money allocated to SGA by the university is not enough funding for all of these organizations to operate at their fullest potential.
“The goal is for the SGA endowment to reach $1 million and with that, interest will benefit organizations within student government that need funding,” Dansby said. “We are trying to make SGA a self-sustaining organization. All of the 14 organizations come and request money out of the allocated pool of $50,000.”
As part of the development team, industrial engineering senior Victoria Scott said she has been working since last semester on the silent auction. The development team was able to gather 50 to 70 items for the auction, but Scott said the most rewarding part of Aggies Got Talent is showcasing the student body and their passions.
“The best part is seeing all these unique people with all these unique talents and it is really cool because you never know who you are sitting by in a classroom and then people decide to come and audition,” Scott said. “It is really exciting to see how creative people are.”
Last year’s acts included a varied range of singers, pianists, violinists and freestyle dancers. Interdisciplinary studies senior Christina Freeman was part of the trio that won last year with a mashup of music by Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith. She said she was glad to help out student organizations through Aggies Got Talent.
“I truly believe everyone has unique gifts, so to find a means of donating your time, money and resources in manner that brings joy to both you and others is extraordinarily rewarding,” Freeman said. “You are not only benefiting yourself but also benefitting other people.”
Freeman said the support from her peers was irreplaceable.
“The biggest and most exciting aspect was the support of our friends from choir, who came out to support us,” Freeman said. “Prize money and bragging rights aside, it was so fun to be supported by our friends, even though we all sing together in choir every day. The Aggie Family is no joke.”
Dansby said roughly 650 students attended last year’s show, garnering a profit of around $2,500. This Saturday, she hopes to exceed those values in both attendance and profit.
“In past events, we have had it where we did not raise money at all but this year we are hoping to get at least 1,000 people to come and anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 just to build the name. That is a very base goal obviously we are hoping for more,” Dansby said.
The silent auction will begin before the show at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the MSC Box office and are $7 in advance and $10 at the door.
