Superstars and many talented individuals have always rocked planet Earth. Whether it be Taylor Swift or Mike Tyson, these superstars have stories of their formative years before they rose in status. Our Oak Lawn Staff and members had the courtesy of seeing our superstars’ formative years before becoming great individuals with their talents at the 2024 Annual Talent Show hosted by the Senior Class Advisory Board. While many great acts were performed, only three were chosen in the finale as the first, second, and third-place winners.
The first act to be introduced was a unique one. Ayesha Muhammad is a junior who is known to her classmates as an “artist” and is often characterized by her love for art. Muhammad’s act was to draw live portraits of people chosen from the audience.
The reason for Muhammad taking on the role of “the artist” was because “[she] felt like [her] drawing skills would go to waste if [she] never showcased them”. Aside from demonstrating her artistic talents, another reason for Muhammad taking on the talent show was in her own words, “I don’t want to be nervous in front of an audience anymore. I want to be more confident in myself” Indeed Muhammad did gain confidence after the talent show as the audiences claps didn’t only sound in her ears but also her confidence. The second act to be introduced was a special rock and roll performance of “Seek and Destroy” performed by Sophomore Gavin O’Meara, Senior Angel Trejo, Junior Nicolas McKenna, and Junior Robert McIsaac. The seven-minute-long act introduced rock and roll fashion to the crowd as the cast shook their heads back and forth while the sounds of electric guitars dominated the theatre.
The third act to be introduced was a beautiful soliloquy of the song “This is Me” performed by Leila Muhammad. The performance shook the stadium with one member of the audience, Alexandra Ewen, saying, “I did not expect her voice to go that high. It takes a great amount of skill to be able to connect to the crowd with your voice and I feel like Leila did connect with the audience.”
The fourth act to be introduced had never been done before. Junior Ceecee Sanders and Senior Zariah Evan collaborated in a special performance called, “Stepping Maj” to introduce black culture dancing to Oak Lawn. This performance was a unique one for Zariah Evan because even though she had sung at the talent show for the last two years, this would be her first year dancing. The reason Evan switched up her craft was because “ I want people to see that I can become very powerful within my crafts and talents and I’m not just limited to my voice but have other abilities.” Evan demonstrates versatility because not only is she a dancer and a singer, but she is also the award recipient for the 2024 Outstanding Student of the Year in the art department. Evan’s companion in the stepping maj, Ceecee Sanders, has her own story for putting on the Stepping Maj performance. Sanders’s explanation for why she wanted to put on this performance was, “Even though I went through a lot of hardships, I learned to have hope and faith. I am going up on that stage to show a true part of myself and who I represent and what I represent. I represent my Jamaican and African culture.” Sanders felt inspiration within herself as she put on this performance and advised her peers too, “Never let anyone tell you what you can and can’t be”. Similarly, as Senior Evan says her final goodbye to the talent show she says, “I hope people see Zariah Evan’s for who she truly is” a talented individual with many talents.
The fifth act to be introduced was a soliloquy of the song “Wildflower” performed by Kel O’Neil. O’Neil focused especially on making the song her own. She added a special touch to the song by singing it in lower key. The reason O’Neil took on the talent show was in her own words, “Sometimes you have to throw yourself in uncomfortable situations to get over them”. O’Neil has had other experience in the music industry as a main vocal in the Band/Club morning show media. The fifth act to be introduced was the duo Amaya Delgado and Emiliano Ruvalcaba singing “When the party’s over”.
Seniors Delgado and Ruvalcaba have planned to participate in the talent show in their sophomore and junior years but have never actually auditioned. Since this was their senior year, they decided this was the last chance the two of them would get to be a part of the event so they auditioned. In their own words,” We hope to get memories out of this as this is our senior year” No doubt they got their memories as the night went on to be iconic. The seventh act to be introduced was a dance performance by sophomore Marianna Schillaci. Schillaci has been dancing since she was in first grade. Schillaci is a part of the Varsity dance team at OLCHS and is also a part of the T and T extreme dance club where she will be performing the same solo she performed at the talent show. The dance was performed to the song “You Don’t Own Me” and contained spins, turns, and even a flip. Schillaci thanks her parents whom she describes as her, “number one fans” and says that she couldn’t do it without them.
The eighth act to be introduced was a guitar performance by Freshman Carlos Siordia. The performance was of the song “Fire”. Siordia describes his guitar in his word words as, “an expansion of myself”. Siordia continues his statement by explaining how “I am not scared for today because I am excited. This is prep for the band that I am going to start hopefully next year.” Siordia’s performance was described by audience member Alexandra Ewen as “the backstory of a superstar”. The tenth performance to be introduced was by Junior Sophie Matthews of the song “Tennessee Whiskey” Matthews is involved in Theatre, Speech, and Choir so therefore has experience with being in front of a large audience. Martha O’Connor highlighted a similarity obvious between Matthew and Taylor Swift. “She looks like Taylor Swift but she sounds even better.
This young lady has potential that exceeds this little talent show”. The eleventh act to be introduced and the first-place winner for the second year in a row was a duo performance by Jayla Clark and Amber Trigg of the song “Die with a Smile”. Clark who was the lead in the OLCHS fall musical “sister act” and Trigg who has been asked to sing at almost all school occasions came together to create not just music but also art. Trigg has loved singing since in her words, “since I was little and my dad pulled out a guitar and said sing and I kept singing ever since”. The duo said, “We’re leaving Oak Lawn behind and we want to make it as memorable as possible. We want to do what we do best”. The duo truly did what they do best as they went on the place first in the talent show.
The eleventh act to be performed was very special as it has been performed by Nate Swan since he was a freshman. Expect, this year came with a plot twist. Nate Swan’s twin brother, Michael Swan, would be joining him on the stage this year to perform his iconic NASCAR Commentary. Michael Swan’s reason for joining his brother on the stage is, “I’m doing this because I love doing it around my brother. I haven’t done it before because of stage fright but I noticed this would be my last chance which makes it a lot more sentimental.” Nate Swan’s love for the commentary has been evident each year he stepped on the stage.
Nate Swan explains in his own words that, “commentary is something in my roots. I have known commentary since I’ve known how to talk”. Although Nate Swan has performed this act all four years and has since been joined by his brother, this year there was a much larger difference in how the show went. This year, the swans placed third place which made the crowd cheer and roar.
The thirteenth and final act was a synchronized swim dance performed on land by the swim team members. The swim team members are Junior Klaudia Latocha, Senior Maya Orozco, Senior Amelia Fudula, Senior Allie Gabriel, Freshman Juliett Campos, Junior Noemi Castillo, and Freshman Isabella Romero. The dance was performed to the song “Lay All Your Love on Me”. The seniors had come together to put on this act as “[they] wanted to do something special for [their] last year at OLCHS. The swim team felt accomplished with their dance as they brought their a-game. Similar to how they brought their a-game to sectionals where they broke many school records. The dance went on to win second place with its comedic appeal to the audience. The talent show came to an end with a special singing performance by Samantha Elliot who is the choir director at OLCHS.
The talent show was very successful with Co-Sponsor Eileen Wholley remarking in her own words how, “I love the diversity the show showcases. Not just our student diversity but also our talent diversity.”
The first, second, and third place winners built on that statement as the first place winner was a singing act, while the second a dancing act, and the third NASCAR commentary. Next year the talent show hopes to reach a larger audience while continuing to showcase a varied amount of talent.
