Members of each Gustavus class have a sense of pride for their school and their fellow classmates. On March 20, members of the class of 2016 came together to celebrate talents during the Sophomore Class Showcase. The only requirements for participating were being a member of the sophomore class and having a talent to share. Sophomores Britta Johnson  and Olivia Tusa, who are both class officers, organized the showcase. They were in charge of recruiting performers and planning the show.

“The purpose of the showcase was to bring our sophomore class together by showing off some of amazing talent we have and hopefully meet knew people. It’s exciting to be able to come together as a team and do something for our class,” Johnson and Tusa said.

Sophomore Angela Donofrio  performed an original song at the showcase. She thought that the showcase was a great idea, but initially planned on just attending, not performing.

“Even though I play guitar and sing a lot for my church worship group, I do not play in settings other than that very often, because I get extremely nervous. As terrifying and nerve-racking as it was to play in front everyone, it ended up being really fun. The best part for me, though, was getting to hear everyone else perform and see their talents. It was great to be in an environment like that with our class – where we were all supporting and cheering each other on because we genuinely wanted everyone to do well,” Donofrio said.

Many sophomores agreed that the showcase was a fun and interactive way to learn about classmates and their talents. Sophomores Anna Lundquist  and Margaret Schroeder  both attended the showcase.

“I think the event helped unify the sophomore class. It was really awesome seeing other sophomores show their talents that I didn’t know they had. I enjoyed getting to know more about other sophomores at Gustavus,” Lundquist said.

“I thought it went really well, the courtyard was packed [with people waiting] to see everyone show off their talents. It was a great opportunity for people in our class to express their creative side. I think it definitely helped get our class closer and more fun events like this would help,” Schroeder said.

Donofrio, Lundquist, and Schroeder all say that they would enjoy another showcase in the future.

“It was a enjoyable event, and I would definitely go if they did it again,” Lundquist said.

“I would definitely like to have another sophomore showcase. I would be more willing to play for it next time and I think that, because more people know about it now, there would be an even better turn out, both for audience members and performers,” Donofrio said.

Student ideas for all-class events can be directed to the respective class officers.