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The last Profs Spotlight of the semester took place in Profs Place in the Chamblerlain Student Center on Monday night.
The show featured a variety of performances, including singing, magic and spoken word poetry.
Marjorie Graves, a junior psychology major, sang covers of songs all having to do with love, including “Here” by Alessia Cara, “The Way That You Love Me” by Jonathan McReynolds and “Unbreakable Smile” by Tori Kelly. Graves has performed for Profs Spotlight at least four times prior and has a system to creating her set.
“I figure out what message I’m trying to deliver,” Graves said. “Tonight’s theme was love so I did self-love, love to God and romantic love.
“I’ve always loved to sing. I’ve been singing my whole life,” Graves continued. “I like to sing so I like that I can do that and inspire. Prof Spotlight gives me a platform.”
Freshman musical theater major Nathan Benson changed things up by performing several card tricks. He became interested in magic years ago and taught himself how to do all of his tricks.
“I had a big magic phase in middle school and I watched a lot of YouTube tutorials and picked up a lot of tricks from that,” Benson said. “Over the years, I forgot some tricks, but there were those few that I still held on to.”
This was Benson’s first time performing for Profs Spotlight and had to adjust to performing onstage rather than in the audience. Although it was difficult for audience members to see the cards, Benson made sure to call volunteers on stage to assist him and narrate what he was doing.
Profs Spotlight had an unexpected act in the middle of the show. Sophomore accounting major Taylor Clark got onstage for the first time at Profs Spotlight and performed one of his spoken word poems. Clark began writing spoken word poetry in elementary school thanks to a program in his school. Clark’s writing has developed greatly over the years as he’s grown as a person.
“At a younger age, I started writing about things but I didn’t know exactly what I was talking about. I was just writing to write,” Clark explained. “As I got older, I started to write about things that were relevant to me and relevant to other people so I could make an impact, so I could make a connection.”
Also new to the stage were singing and ukulele duo Jessi Quinlan and Jen Vorel, senior radio, television and film major and senior psychology major respectively. They sang covers such as “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, “It Ain’t Me” by Selena Gomez and “Riptide” by Vance Joy.
Closing out the night was senior biology major Devin Dromgoole, a veteran to the Profs Spotlight stage. Dromgoole estimated that he has performed in Profs Spotlight between ten and fifteen times since his freshman year. He played guitar and sang covers of songs as well as originals.
“Five or six years ago, I wrote my first song, but it’s so terrible no human ears should ever hear it. As the years have progressed I have a small arsenal I’ve grown to like,” Dromgoole said. “I draw inspiration from my life experiences, other people’s life experiences and poetry.”
Profs Spotlight occurs once a semester and will begin again once the fall semester starts. For more information about the event or performing in it, please contact Carly Samuels at samuel75@rowan.edu.
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