Although everyone cannot be together during these times, Student Parliament never fails to find a unique way to keep students involved and engaged. 

From Dec. 11, 2020 to Jan. 8, 2021, Student Parliament, Coach Benny Willers, and Coach Jene Morris received video submissions of students performing their greatest skills, playing their favorite songs, and showing off their strengths to create Riordan’s very first talent show. 

Although it was virtual, the talents were exemplified through a 10-minute video shown to the whole school during a Mentor Group meeting.

“We had almost 20 submissions. Nothing over the top, but definitely the perfect amount for a 10 minute video. I thought all of them were really, really good,” stated Willers. “It was a positive that we could show the video during Mentor Groups so the whole school would see it.”

Student Parliament Member Daniel Chan ’21 said, “We got more submissions than we bargained for and it comes to show that when given the chance, the Riordan family really knows how to give a good show.”

Adding to the historical event in student activities history, a cash prize of $100 was at stake, too. This prompted all students to put their best foot forward, as everyone had a chance to win this rare cash opportunity. The judges of this event were Willers and Morris and picking the winner was far from easy, as many had differing opinions on whose submission topped them all.

“Obviously, we had to pick a top three. That was so hard to do! I’m proud of the students who participated and I encourage more to do the same moving forward,” added Willers.

Student Parliament Co-President JT Torrea ‘21 also responded, “One of the talents that stood out to me was the animation. It was really cool to see and if this talent show was physical, you would never expect this kind of talent to be showcased. But because it was online, more people could show off more unconventional talents much easier.”

Despite all the glorious star student submissions, three proved that they were the superior talents of the school. In third place came Orion Kelly ‘24, with his extremely relatable animation, followed by J.P. Cayabyab’s piano performance of “Howls Moving Castle” in second place. Topping the charts though, and running away with the cash prize, was Andrea Abraham’s ‘24 ukulele and singing performance of “Riptide.” Despite being nervous, Abraham persevered and presented a great performance. 

Abraham said, “I was a little nervous at first because there are so many talented people at Riordan and I’m only a freshman. I was also nervous because it was going to be shown in front of the whole school.” 

She added, “With the prize money, I plan to save it for college, but a neon sign does sound pretty nice too. For the future, though, I would love to participate again and I also encourage others to show their talents, too!”