There aren’t many people who have the courage to perform in a room full of people. However, if they knew they could win something that is worth the try, they just might.

Students performed their talents Thursday in front of their peers at ULM’s Got Talent, with the chance to win prize money.

Students showed their musical and vocal abilities with guitar, piano, as well as singing and rapping. They had the chance to win $400 for first place, $200 for second, or $100 for third.

Yuna Choi, a freshman pre-pharmacy major, won first place after playing the piano and said the experience was “awesome.”  She performed her favorite piece called “Fantasies Impromptu” by Frederic Chopin, a piece she said took a lot of practice.

Choi said her mother taught her the basics of piano when she was six and she’s loved it ever since. She also said that she liked playing the piano so much that she “would find pieces online and practice them.”

Choi  said piano is all about practice and that when you love something, you will always keep practicing.

Alberta Greene, former ULM graduate, hosted the talent show and kept the showing going by interacting with the audience between each performance.

Greene asked students from the audience to come on stage to show their talents and gave prizes to those who did.

While some students sang and danced, one student did a yoga stunt. Another student balanced a chair on his mouth. She also asked twenty students from the audience to come on stage to join her in a dance to the hit song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

Javon Simms, a freshman kinesiology major, attended the event and said, “ I enjoyed… everyone who performed gave it their all and enjoyed themselves.”

Simms was also one of the students from the audience who showed his talent. He rapped a “Tupac Shakur song in Biggie Smalls voice.”

Shaterrica Sampson, senior psychology major who worked the event said, the event as a whole was enjoyable.

“It’s a fun event for those who come to watch, as well as those who are participating,”

Sampson said.

Maggie Warren, coordinator of student development said, “This is an annual event we do every spring.”

Warren said they want as many students to participate as possible because they want to showcase the finer things that ULM has to offer.