Ten finalists from five local universities competed to be Pittsburgh’s Campus Superstar, an American Idol-style event with a prize of a $5000 scholarship. The event, held Thursday March 29 at 7pm at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland, featured Elliot Yamin — a runner-up in last year’s American Idol as the emcee. Yamin opened the event with a performance of “Take My Breath Away,” off his debut album.
After the screening of a video provided by the Hillel JUC titled “I like Hillel because…”, the lights dimmed and the crowd cheered as the student sang their hearts out.
Freshman Nick Cosgrove from Carnegie Mellon University won the grand prize, and runners up Rob Kurth (Duquesne University) and Alyssa Thatcher (University of Pittsburgh) left with $1000 scholarships. The judges, Eta Cox, Lynn Cullen, Ken Rice, and Richard Rauh, gawked over Cosgrove alongside screaming fans applauding his talent and poise.
“You said ‘I’ll be better when I’m older,’” Cox exclaimed, “and honey, that’s scary.”
More than 100 students auditioned for this scholarship opportunity in November, twenty-four of whom were chosen as semi-finalists. A panel of judges chose the final ten, and they competed Thursday night in front of hundreds of students and community members.
The event raised over $270,000 for the Hillel Jewish University Center, exceeding the goals of staff and interns who had been planning the event since early September. The event was part of the annual Not Quite Kosher affair underwritten by the Sanford N. Robinson, Sr. Memorial Lecture Endowment Fund.