Sammy’s Got Talent is a talent show put on by the Campus Activities and Traditions Board in association with Sam Houston State University and the Lowman Student Center. This year’s event took place late last month in the Orange Ballroom and consisted of 10 different acts, covering a wide spectrum of talents, such as singing, dancing and even circus performing.  

The event is set up similarly to traditional talent TV shows such as “America’s Got Talent” in which there is a panel of judges who determine the first, second and third-place winners respectively. Each performer goes on one after the other, while the hosts, the Campus Activities and Traditions Board, hosted small intermission audience games to keep them engaged.  

SHSU student and contestant Ryan Villanueva shared what the process was like leading up to Sammy’s Got Talent, and how the overall experience was for him.    

“Sammy’s Got Talent really provided an outlet for me that was previously inaccessible as a student. If I wasn’t studying Cyber Security I definitely would have majored in music,” Villanueva said.  

Villanueva performed an original song called “Leftover Flowers” that was written by himself, as well as performed by himself with only an acoustic guitar and a microphone. This performance landed him the second runner-up position. 

“It was amazing, to finally be on stage representing myself and only myself, and the anxiety I felt was not about the actual performance—it was more about finally achieving a dream I have had for so long,” Villanueva said.  

Below are the final results:

Winner: Ballet Folklorico

First runner-up: Emily Perez

Second runner-up: Ryan Villanueva.