Mar Vista High School’s Rachel’s Challenge Club Hosts Talent Show

Publication Info: Imperial Beach Eagle & Times

Publication Date: June 8, 2018

On Friday, May 25, the Rachel’s Challenge Club hosted a talent show for the students at Mar Vista High School. There were eleven acts, each of them displaying their own unique talents for their families, friends, and teachers. The show was organized by one of Mar Vista’s history teachers, Mrs. Tellez, and Rachel’s Challenge Club President senior, Melanie Villela, alongside the rest of the club members. The show was organized almost completely by Mar Vista students, and had an old Hollywood theme. The top three acts would receive medals and gift cards. From flute duets to rock bands, this show had it all.

A little bit about Rachel and her challenge: Rachel Joy Scott was the first victim of the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999. She was a friend to many and after her death a number of students came forward with stories about how her kindness and acceptance had affected them. One boy even explaining how she prevented him from ending his own life. The Rachel’s Challenge mission is this: “Making schools safer, more connected places where bullying and violence are replaced with kindness and respect; and where learning and teaching are awakened to their fullest.”

When asked about Rachel, Villela replied, “She believed that when you practiced an act of kindness toward someone, that person will most likely pass it on and create a chain reaction of kindness and positivity. That is exactly our goal at Mar Vista: creating a safe and accepting environment for our fellow students and teachers.”

The show began with a performance from Mar Vista’s PanAsian club, who would perform again before intermission. They stunned the audience with two traditional Filipino folk dances called Tinikling and Sakuting. The members danced and jumped between poles, beat bamboo sticks together, and smiled throughout the entire performance. Next up was Andres Lozano, playing Für Elise on the piano. The lights dimmed as he took a seat at the instrument. As he began his song, a hush came upon the crowd as everyone listened. When he finished his piece, the audience applauded as he walked behind the curtain to the backstage area. Later in the show juniors, Alexis Bowlby and Lily Gomez performed a powerful singing/guitar duet. With Lily Gomez on the guitar, Alexis Bowlby was able to nail her cover of Young Blood by 5 Seconds of Summer. The emotion was apparent in the eyes of the performers when the audience cheered as Alexis hit her last note.

“We’ve been looking forward to this show for a while,” said Gomez. ”I think it went exactly how we wanted it to go.”

Zaenab Al Basam delivered a moving original poem about the recent trend of shootings in high schools. She wore a sweatshirt bearing the words “March For Our Lives.” The audience was silent as her final words echoed throughout the auditorium, “When will enough be enough?”

Nearing the end of the show freshman, Jerelyn Ochoa sang La Llorona from the movie “Coco.” She entered the stage wearing a dress inspired by a character from the movie. She painted half of her face as a sugar skull from Mexican culture, and she sang her heart out. The audience was clapping along to the performance as she danced across the stage. She finished her song with a loud cheer, which was met with equally loud cheers from the crowd.

As the show came to a close, it was time to pick the winning acts. In third place was Ochoa. When asked how she felt when her name was announced, she answered, “Well a bit shocked I suppose. I thought I did well but not well enough to be one of the top three.”

Next, Lozano was awarded second place for his piano performance.

Finally, the drum roll began as everyone waited to hear the first place winner. When Bowlby and Gomez were announced as the winners, the audience applauded as they stepped forward onto the stage.

“We entered in the talent show to play a great show and that‘s what we did,” stated Gomez. “Nothing is better than jammin’ out with my best friend.”

Overall, the Rachel’s Challenge talent show was a success. The performers gave nothing but happy comments, and the audience had a great time.

Villela speculates that this showcase will become a tradition from now on at Mar Vista. “This is barely the first year Rachel’s Challenge Club is at Mar Vista and it certainly won’t be the last. We decided to do a talent show not only to help the club grow, but also to accentuate the students’ talents and be more supportive and kind towards others.”