This year’s Mason Idol was an event to be remembered. The festivities took off with everyone enjoying some spicy Mexican food after which we settled down to enjoy the varied talents of the students at the Mason School of Business.
The judges for the event included our very own MBAA president, Margo Wheeler, one of our beloved Executive Partners, Rick Spatz, and the one and the only Professor Ram Ganeshan. Chris Sessa and Chase Ochoa emceed and made us laugh the whole time.
Daniel Kauffman started off the show and wowed us with his abilities to consume copious amounts of raw eggs as well as work out without actually being in the gym.
The MBA staff showed off their dancing skills and left us no doubt as to why none of them had a career in dance.
They were shortly followed by 2nd year MBAs singing camp songs and leaving us generally bewildered at the lyrics.
Derek Struiksma saved the day with his soft voice and amazing guitar skills. He and his daughter were clearly crowd favorites and everyone agreed that he won points by letting his little girl distract him and fiddle with the mic.
It was then time for Billy Ekofo’s rendition of Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way. He too was a crowd favorite and the judges praised both his singing and guitar skills. Nick Skantz serenaded us with a German song, dedicated to Tanja Wilhemi, our first year MBA student from Germany. Since the Judges knew no German, they left the judging to Tanja who praised Nick.
The 2nd year MBAs were not done as another colorfully dressed group got on stage led by Nelly Chang and danced to Gangnam Style. This time, they gave us reason to cheer them on and assured us that we will miss them at the next Mason Idol.
All in all, it was a fun event and showed a lighter and humorous side of the MBA program. Thank you to all those that volunteered to make the event a success as well as all of the amazing participants and judges.
Congratulations to Derek for winning this year’s edition. Well done everyone!
