With the school year winding down, Northwestern student-athletes were free to take their talents to Tech Auditorium as the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the First Annual Student-Athlete Talent Show on Tuesday night.
Attendees were treated to seven performances by members of various varsity athletic programs. Each performance was voted on and publically critiqued by a panel of four judges, headlined by Northwestern head football coach Pat Fitzgerald and Dean of Students Burgwell Howard.
The big winner of the night was Kristin Scharkey, a sophomore outfielder on the softball team, who wowed the audience and the judges with a cover of the song “Need” by West Coast folk-pop singer Tyrone Wells.
“I had a few [nerves] earlier in the day,” Scharkey said. “Once I get on stage, they all kind of disappear and you get lost in the moment.”
Scharkey started singing in church choir as a child but only started playing guitar since she came to Northwestern. It was also only the second time she performed live.
However, the real show stealers may have been soccer senior defenseman Pat “P-Holla” Gibson and senior football cornerback Mike “BBD” Bolden, who treated the audience to a live performance of their soon-to-be hit single “The Seat Belt Dance,” which can only be summed up as a poor man’s Dougie.
Gibson, donning a Boston Celtics Brian Scalabrine jersey, and Bolden rapped and “danced” on stage as their surprisingly high-quality music video was projected in the background. The two wowed the audience, but did not get the same reaction from the judges.
“It’s the worst song I’ve ever heard. It’s the worst video I’ve ever seen,” a smiling Pat Fitzgerald said after the show. “I’m extremely disappointed if that’s all they’ve got.”
Although judges were instructed to not show their scores to the public, Fitzgerald could not restrain, writing a large “0” on a piece of paper to display for the audience.
“We do it for the people,” responded an unfazed Gibson.
Other performances included a stirring duet rendition of “A Whole New World” by junior soccer midfielder John Rogers and sophomore women’s lacrosse midfielder Beatrice Conley. The performance was complete with a welcome mat as a magic carpet and a red Solo cup affixed to Rogers’s head.
Dean Howard described it as his “favorite way to see red cups used.”
Rogers responded, saying he was a big fan of Howard’s emails.
Despite the humorous atmosphere surrounding the show, the event did have a truly generous cause behind it. All proceeds from the event went to the Kathryn Mahoney Fund, which was set up to support senior Michigan State gymnast Kathryn Mahoney.
Back in December 2010, Mahoney was left paralyzed from the waist down after a freak accident while practicing the vault. After learning of Mahoney’s story, several Northwestern student-athletes visited Mahoney while she was in the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. After getting to know Mahoney better, SAAC decided the event would be held as a fundraiser in her honor.
“She’s a part of our family, in the Big Ten sense,” said Carolyn Edwards, who is co-president of SAAC, along with Jon Harris.
Mahoney, who is in the process of recovering at her home in Western Springs, Ill., was on hand for the event. Her presence did not go unnoticed by the participants and judges.
“Kathryn is an absolute inspiration to me,” Scharkey said. “I just think it was an honor to be able to play for a person with the kind of courage that she has.”
Fitzgerald concurred, citing Mahoney as a main reason for acting as a judge.
“What a great inspiration. Someone battling, fighting and just doing something that she loved to do and all of a sudden her life changes forever. What an inspiration.”
Over 250 people attended the event, which raised $700 for the Kathryn Mahoney Fund.
Editor’s note: The typo was fixed — “apart” was changed to “a part.” Your comment can stay, buddy.