The Commuting Student Association (CSA) hosted its annual talent show, Rams Got Talent, remotely on its Instagram account. This year, CSA asked competitors to send in one-minute video submissions to either CSA’s Instagram account (@fordhamcsa) or their email by Monday, April 6. Students could vote on their favorites of the top ten submissions on the account’s story until the winner was chosen on Friday, April 10.

The top ten submissions this year included singing and musical performances on various instruments by Kaidya Adames, GSB ’21, Caroline Forier, FCRH ’21, Emily McLane, GSB ’22, Ella Redmond, FCRH ’21, and Blake Mongno, FCRH ’22. 

Top submissions also included a music video by Anthea Vishegonov, GSB ’22, a collage made by Nilson Wilson, FCRH ’22, and a combination of singing and solving a Rubik’s cube by Marina Soverato, FCRH ’21.

The first-place winner this year as decided by voters was Marina Soverato. She said she felt that participating in a talent show over Instagram was a pleasant experience. 

“All I had to do was send in my video, which was nice because I didn’t have to worry about stage fright,” she said. 

Mongno, who sings in Fordham’s Satin Dolls, said she also enjoyed the difference in the format of the competition over Instagram. 

“Participating over Instagram was cool because way more people got to watch the submissions, and also different because the voting was up to the followers instead of judges,” said Mongno. “It definitely kept me entertained for the week and gave me something to look forward to watching.” 

While the video-based format of this year’s Ram’s Got Talent attracted some students due to its simplicity, many participants had also previously hoped to compete in person this year. 

“I competed in this talent show last year and planned on doing it in person at Fordham this year as well,” said Redmond, who is co-lead singer in the band Couch. “I was excited when they offered an online/instagram talent show because I always love the showcase of different talents Fordham students have to offer.”

CSA Executive President Kaidya Adames, GSB ’21, said this year’s Ram’s Got Talent was a different sort of format, not only because students weren’t on campus anymore, but also due to the fact that CSA did not have access to their budget anymore. Both conditions meant that the top three winners did not get prizes. 

Also, the presence of online voting in deciding the winner of the competition this year led to a lengthier experience than usual, as acts were narrowed down over a period of a week, said Adames. 

“We weren’t able to do it in person this year but still wanted to engage students and thought a virtual talent show would be perfect to bring the community together,” she said. “I think we reached more (people) through social media than the event itself typically does.”