Twenty-second talents: DECA hosts their first virtual talent show

BY KAREN SUROS

When it comes to getting to know one another in a fun, creative environment, talent shows are a timeless classic. CCHS’s Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) chapter held their first-ever virtual talent show after school on Wednesday, December 9. 

The school’s DECA program hosts social events like this talent show on a monthly basis as a way for members to both bond and have an opportunity to earn DECA Diamonds.

“We usually do card-making, Halloween activities and stuff like that,” junior and Membership Vice President Desiree Kurtz said. “This is the first talent show we’ve done.”

Kurtz worked with fellow Marketing Vice President Carly Weinblatt and executive board member Cole Perullo in order to organize this social event. Her responsibilities in her role as Membership Vice President include organizing DECA’s social events, collecting member’s information at the beginning of the year and organizing other member-related events. 

“This is the first talent show we’ve done.”

Junior and Membership Vice President Desiree Kurtz

This year, she faces the added challenge of making events virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the talent show looked different from what it might have been under normal circumstances.

“It definitely helps with motivating the members, and allowing people to show off talents others might not know about,” junior and Vice President of Testing Dylan Bober said.

A big part of putting on the event was promoting it, such as on social media, which required cooperation among all DECA officers. Social events like this one aim to unify students while giving them the opportunity to express themselves. DECA values these experiences, especially now in the world’s present state.

“I hope that this activity is able to make people feel a sense of togetherness and joy in a time of great difficulty,” Kurtz said.

For the actual event, DECA members had the opportunity to send in a twenty-second video of their talent in order to enter the competition and earn DECA Diamonds. Perullo and Kurtz inserted all of the submission clips into a single video. They played this video for the attendees, and at its end they asked the audience to vote for their favorite talent via a Google Form.

From dancing to playing the ukulele, participants offered a wide variety of talents. There was no shortage of entertainment for the audience, which ended up being over 65 people.

“The talent show was super fun to watch,” senior Ryan Lewis said. “I didn’t realize that so many other people were going to participate.”

Ultimately, Lewis’s talent entry featuring his editing genius earned him the majority of votes, making him the winner of the talent show. 

“I submitted an edited video of myself flying across the screen.”

Senior Ryan Lewis

“I submitted an edited video of myself flying across the screen,” Lewis said. “I do not believe that I should have won, but hey, it happened.”

To be fair, Lewis faced tough competition from an array of aptitudes. The emphasis of this event, though, was never really on winning; officers hoped to make the event a good time for participants, and in that they succeeded.

“Everything went so smooth and everyone had a great time,” Kurtz said.

This may have been DECA’s first talent show, but given its success, it is unlikely to be the last one.

“Winning felt awesome and I totally needed the DECA Diamonds,” Lewis said. “I loved the talent show and I hope we do another one!”

Photo courtesy of Ryan Lewis