Tonight, 10 of the District’s most talented teens will compete for thousands of dollars in college scholarship money.
Brittany Timmons is a senior at McKinley Technology High School in Northeast D.C. She says she’s got a lot on her mind these days.
"Knowing that I’m going off to college. That things are just changing," says Timmons.
That’s why Timmons can’t stop singing this song.
"I am changing," she sings. "Trying every way I can. I am changing. And I’ll be better than I am."
Tonight, Timmons will compete in the D.C. CAPital Stars Talent Contest. Think American Idol for adolescents.
Argelia Rodriguez is director of the D.C. College Access Program, the organization that sponsors the event.
"We decided to celebrate the talent that’s in the schools that a lot of people don’t know about," says Rodriguez.
Rodriguez started the program 11 years ago, when only 30 percent of D.C. seniors enrolled in college.
"It’s really almost an indoctrination process," she says. "You can do it. You can do it. You can do it. And we’ll be there to help you do it."
Now, Rodriguez says, 62 percent of District seniors enroll in college. And the group has given out millions of dollars in scholarships. Tonight, it will hand out thousands more. Timmons says she’d love to win. But she’s just happy to participate.
Man About Town on DC-CAPital Stars
WTOP News Radio's "Man About Town" Bob Madigan covers the 2010 DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition and Gala.
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Top 10 Finalists in DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition To Perform on Monday, March 8
Celebrity Judges Debbie Allen, Eric Lewis (ELEW, Dominique Dawes) and the Audience Will Help Choose
WHAT: The Washington area public has selected the 10 finalists for the DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition who will showcase their artistic abilities at a special performance at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. That evening, a panel of celebrity judges (see below), along with help from the audience, will help select the grand prize winner. All finalists will receive DC-CAP college scholarships. The event is part of DC-CAP’s A Night of Capital Stars Gala celebration which will honor outstanding academic achievement and excellence in artistic abilities of college-bound students from the District of Columbia.
WHEN: Monday, March 8, 7 pm
WHERE: Eisenhower Theater The John F. Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts 2700 F Street, NW Washington, DC 20566
WHO:
Celebrity Judges:
Debbie Allen, Actor, Producer, Director and Choreographer
Dominque Dawes, Olympic Gold Medalist
Eric Lewis (aka ELEW), Master Pianist and Composer
10 Finalists from DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition
Donald Graham, Gala Co-Chair, Chairman of DC-CAP
Catherine Reynolds, Gala Co-Chair, Board Member, DC-CAP
BACKGROUND: The DC College Access Program (DC-CAP), a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging and enabling all District public and public charter high school students to enroll in and graduate from college, invited the public to vote for the best DC high school performers in the second annual DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition. Voting began the week of February 1 at www.dccap.org.
Specifically, the top 44 auditions were posted on DC-CAP’s Web site for the public to view and choose their favorites in vocal, instrumental or dance category. Voting continued through February 14. From the online tallies and input from a local panel of judges, 10 finalists were selected to perform to compete for college scholarships.
PHOTO OPS: Interviews and photo ops available with celebrities, students and DC-CAP officials.
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Congratulations to Our Winners!
The 2010 DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition has happened and here are our big winners!
Voting ended Sunday, February 14th at 11:59pm. If you voted, thank you for voting! The ten finalists performed LIVE on Monday, March 8 and a panel of celebrity judges, along with the audience selected three winners. See them to the left and see you next year!
Spread the Word!
Find DC-CAP on Facebook and YouTube for more information, and use the bookmarking icons on the bottom of pages to let others know about DC-CAP and the Night of DC-CAPital Stars Talent Competition and Gala. Thanks!
