Misa Maruyama (left) and Ayu Nitta (right), both Hospitality majors at Kapi‘olani Community College, perform “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran during KCC’s Got Talent. (Photo by Shawna Takaki)

By Shawna Takaki | Staff Writer

KCC’s Got Talent, a talent show featuring Kapiʻolani Community College students and faculty, took place on Friday for two hours at the Ohi’a Cafeteria. 

“We tried to bring everyone together and share students’ talents to the community as well as encouraging them to be more outgoing,” said Panha Sok, a 19-year-old member of the Board of Student Activities who came up with the idea of the talent show and performed in it. 

There were many talents showcased, such as a magic show, vocalists, and dancers. Twenty-two people performed in front of the audience in 15 separate performances.

“It’s good to make good memories. There are many talented performers,” said Benjamin Byeon, a 24-year-old exchange student from Seoul who sang a “A Whole New World.”

One of these performers was Casper MacDomhnaill, a 31-year-old Astrophysics major who created an original composition on the piano and performed first.

“It was just an opportunity where you got to play for the first time publicly since COVID hit,” McDonhnaill said. “… It was neat to see a bunch of different people that were here.”

Free snacks and beverages were offered, with a popcorn machine giving out bags of popcorn for people to eat during the intermissions of the talent show. There were musubis and even sushi given to people who attended the event.

“I think BOSA really worked hard for this,” said Minsoo Kim, a 24-year-old Liberal Arts major who watched the talent show.

Forty people RSVPed to attend, and there were many walk-ins to the talent show as well. The only requirement to enter was a green pass on Lumisight, and people were given wristbands so they could leave and reenter the building easily.

“We would do another one in the future for sure,” said Sok, who danced to multiple KPop songs.. “This is one of our biggest events yet.”