Zobadia Azad and Kyle Henry were the winners of this year’s Multicultural Student Coalition Talent Show.

The Talent Show was held Thursday night, Nov. 8, in the Henry Student Union Building Ballroom. The Multicultural Student Coalition, which sponsors the event, participates in community service projects, ethnic celebrations, scholarly presentations and other activities that help to increase intercultural understanding.

This year’s talent show, hosted by Jaleel Sterling and Cartier Scott, had 14 different acts that ranged from dancing to singing to baton-twirling to comedy.

There were also special appearances from the brothers from the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity of University of Pittsburgh, who performed multiple different stepping routines.

“I was completely amazed by everyone’s performance,” said Samantha Volk, a junior psychology major. “It was a great show to watch. My friends and I had a great time.”

The judges were all faculty members and staff: Jamie Miller, Missy Howells, Dr. Barbara King, Phil Ruthkosky and Mark Allen. They judged every performance and then narrowed it down to the top five.

Third place went to Macey McGuire and Brandon Schmeer singing “Sweet Escape” by Gwen Stefani. After performing, McGuire, a sophomore communication studies major, said, “I love performing. I’ve been singing since I was 5 years old. I have such a passion for performing. It’s my dream to go somewhere with it.”

Second place went to Jaqueline Harrison, Alyssa Daniels, Joyce Eshun and Martinique Watson who performed a hip-hop dance routine.

But first place and $300 prize went to Zobaida Azad and Kyle Henry who performed a hip-hop and traditional Indian-style dance.

“I am so excited that my partner and I won,” Azad, a sophomore communication studies major, said. “We have been practicing for almost a month. It was well worth it.”

The performance line-up included:

1. Rachel Grill-Irish step dance
2. Martina Barna-Played piano and sang “Jar of Hearts”
3. Meribeth Derkach and Megan Parsi-one played piano and the other danced
4. Ashton Zanecki- sang “California King Bed”
5. Justin Franiak-comedy
6. Victoria Yeselegive-Rudovitz-Baton twirling
7. Kayla Eaton-sing
8. Macey McGuire and Brandon Schmeer-Guitar, bongo and sang “Sweet Escape”
9. Brian Palmiter and Katie Cirone-sang “Kiss Me” along with guitars and drums
10. Matt Gaines-comedy
11.  Marissa Spryn-sang “Last Name” By Carrie Underwood
12. Adam Bailey-Sand and played guitar “Rollin in the Deep”
13. Zobaida Azad and Kyle Henry-Hip hop and tradional Indian dance
14. Cora Gibson-Sang “Burnin’ Love”
15. Jaqueline Harrison, Alyssa Daniels, Joyce Eshun and Martinique Watson- Hip hop dance