The spotlight is on, the clapping has subsided, and the audience waits. Can the next performer top the previous one?

There is already extraordinary talent in the air and oozing out of the Kelvin & Eleanor Smith Ballroom in the Tinkham Veale University Center. As the next act ends, the audience cheers and claps like they do for all the previous acts. Who will win?

Act after act takes the stage and the excitement in the room increases as the event draws to an end. The waiting performers begin to pace and sweat because it is time to announce the winners and awards.

All the acts put on their best performance for the audience and the three judges: Chemistry Professor Drew Meyer, student Pri Chari, and University Student Government President Taylor Gladys. But, which act will win? Yo-yo? Singing? Guitar?

The suspense and tension is strong in the air as the winners are about to be announced. Friends, fans and audience members sit on the edge of their seats as they listen closely. They hear that the winner is…

Isaiah Ahn. He wins $150 to TicketMaster.com and also gets chosen as fan favorite winning $50 to Mitchell’s Ice Cream. The second place winner, Abby Bolon, wins $100 to L’Albatros Brasserie. Third place winner Frank Percic wins $75 to Qdoba.

At CWRU’s Got Talent on Nov.14, audience members were able to witness the seven breathtaking acts that showed a glimpse of the vast talents that Case Western Reserve University students have. Although there were mainly singing acts, each act was able to differentiate themselves and be distinctive in their own way.

The new members of University Program Board created and organized this variety talent show to show the success of their training in UPB Boot Camp, showcasing the group’s dynamic abilities. This is the first year that the new members were able to plan, organize and create an event. The Director of New Members William Tomaszewski wanted to use this event as a learning experience for the new members.

Overall, the event was very successful. Kya Sherman, the director of public relations for UPB, says that the event was able to reach a really great group of students. She also commends the new members for their hard work.

“They were able to pull together a big event and think everything through,” said Sherman.

For this event, the new UPB members had several committees such as food committee and awards committee. Huvra Mehta, along with fellow members Cindy Berry and Vanessa Chen on the awards committee is particularly proud of the prizes that the committee was able to get for the performers.

The awards committee wanted to have bigger prizes as incentives for more performers to come out and show off their talents. Kya Sherman said that UPB wants to use the event and the big prizes to “recognize talent in students that is not shown in big groups”.

The food committee presented the audience and the performers with pizza, brownies, a variety of chips, and water before and after the event, and also during intermission.

CWRU’s Got Talent was not only a successful event for audience members and performers but also for the new UPB members.

“Groups of friends came out as support,” said Kya Sherman.

This was shown through the cute cheering signs, clapping and general excitement from the audience. In addition, the new members were able to learn about the planning, organizing and collaborating that goes into putting on an event.