The eighth annual Southeastern Star competition took place last Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m. in the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. The Campus Activities Board (CAB) sponsored this event. Ten students showcased their personal talents including singers, a dancer and an actress. The singers included Joshua Williams, Sommer Ferrill, Ian Doran, Kayla Blanchard, Jordan Leggett, Iulilia Alyeksyeyeva, Jeremy Lloyd and Heather Hand. The dancer was Steven Ban and the actress was Minnie Gatlin.     

“After hearing my friends mention that Southeastern Star had new categories besides just singing, I was incredibly excited,” said Bernice Cashman, a freshman business major. “It’s not often that other talents get the opportunity to showcase, so this was a really big treat.”

This year Angela James, a mental health counselor at the University Counseling Center, Anthony Ranatza, assistant director of admissions and music junior Damian Faul judged the competition. The judges scored on various areas such as performance and technique on a one to 10 scale.

The show opened when the two co-hosts Jonathan Ambrose and Jacy Carpenter introduced the 2010 Southeastern Star Durand Jones, who performed for the audience. Following the opening, the show immediately jumped into the first round. During this round all 10 contestants performed, and the audience was asked to fill out a ballot afterwards. This ballot, along with 50 percent help of the judges, would determine who moved on to the next round.

After votes were tallied, the hosts announced the top four who made it to the next round. The performers included Lloyd, Blanchard, Leggett and Hand.

Blanchard began the second round singing “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin. Following her, Leggett displayed his performance skills by performing “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. Lloyd performed his modern version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and Hand closed the round by performing “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston.

In this round, the judges voted for who they wanted to become the 2011 Southeastern Star. While they deliberated, Jones performed another song along with Miss Southeastern Gabrielle Palma, who performed a dance for the audience.

After the judges returned, the winners were announced. Ban was the winner of the dance competition with his performance to “The Way I Are” by Timberland. Gatlin won the miscellaneous category after performing two original monologues. The winner of the singing competition was Hand, a vocal performance major.

“I feel that Southeastern Star accurately reflected the interesting dynamic of talent on campus,” said senior English major, Jacqueline Weimer.

“Being in Southeastern Star was an amazing experience,” said Hand. “It was an honor to be able to share a stage with so many talented performers. I’m so proud to be the new Southeastern Star.”

For more information on events put on by CAB, contact their office at 985-549-3805 or [email protected]