This past Monday, the third Profs Spotlight of the year kicked off the month of November in Profs Place in the Chamberlain Student Center. 

The event showcased diverse areas of talent students have to offer, including slam poetry, hip-hop, pop-punk and country music.

Starting off the night was Parting Ways, a pop-punk trio. The band consisted of senior marketing major Pete Caniglia, senior radio, television and film major Andrew Stewart and sophomore law and justice major John DeSteno. The three have been playing together for over a year.

Vocalist Caniglia revealed the influences on the group’s sound, the bands Green Day and A Day To Remember.

Caniglia and his bandmates performed original songs, including the first one they ever wrote titled “Who I Used to Be,” as well as pop-punk covers. Parting Ways is looking forward to recording an EP (a short album) next week at a studio in Mount Laurel.

Freshman law and justice major Brianna Roland returned once again to Profs Spotlight for another round of slam poetry. Her first poem was titled “Rough Love” and focused on violence and emotional damage in romantic relationships.

Her second was a group poem, featuring her friend and fellow poet Jasmine Glover, a freshman health sciences major. Titled “Jersey Tomatoes,” the collaborative piece saw each performer take on a role, with one playing a mother and the other a daughter.

“We wrote our own parts, and then figured out what we wanted to place emphasis on after looking at what we had,” Glover said.

The two also made sure to give credit to their high school poetry teacher, Christine Lewis, who was in attendance.

Rapper R.I.C.H. was next to take the stage, whose real name is Richie Sandoval.

A senior law and justice major, Sandoval performed a mix of original raps and freestyles along with radio hits. A large group of fans came to support him, who referred to themselves as the R.I.C.H. fan club. Sandoval’s set tackled many issues, including police violence, systemic racism and the loss of his mother, whom he dedicates his music to.

“I started writing raps in seventh grade,” he recalled. “I was writing Dr. Seuss ‘Cat in the Hat‘ style rhymes. As I got older and lost my mom, I kind of fell in love with writing my thoughts out on paper.”

Sandoval has been working with his own music team, known as Everybody Eats, and hopes to partner with other labels in the future.

Richie Partheymuller, a senior journalism major, performed a set that consisted entirely of a cappella country music. Partheymuller hails from a small town in upstate New York and credits his grandfather for raising him. He also gave credit to his Christian religion and Jesus.

“I started singing when I was in tenth grade,” he said. “I would ride my bike all over town and talk to myself. After a while, I got tired of simply talking, so I started singing to myself. And that’s where it all began.”

Rounding out the night was a hip hop-duo known as “Sky and Young.” Schuyler Morrison and Zachary Dash, both junior music majors, are the two behind the personas. Similarly to R.I.C.H., the group had a large fan base in attendance, some of whom joined them on stage to dance or sing a chorus.

“When I was in high school, rappers were bad, so I felt that I had to step up,” Morrison said. “Plus, my family was rapping and my uncle did the theme song for the Eagles.”

Dash credited his musical partner Morrison for influencing him to start rapping.

“I met him in elementary school,” Dash added, noting the influence of his peer. “Throughout high school, I saw him rapping, and that influenced me. We joined together and made a team, and the rest is history.”

The next Profs Spotlight is slated for February, and students who want to perform are encouraged to contact the Student Center as soon as possible to grab a spot.

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