Talent can show up in the most interesting of places and San Diego State open mic nights just happen to be one of those places.

The Aztec Student Union Board collaborated with their Aztec Pride, music and entertainment committees to create and host two events simultaneously, an open mic night and an event called Snapshots of State.

These events were held in the Aztec Student Union on Thursday, Feb. 16 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“This event is a place where students can come out of their comfort zone and where there is not a lot of pressure,” said Austin Kennedy, marketing junior and chair of the Music and Entertainment Committee.

The open mic had multiple performers with a variety of singer-songwriters, comedians, rappers and beatboxers.

There were four judges who evaluated the performances on overall performance, stage performance, talent and skill.

Communications junior Daniel Perez III was the host of the event.

His job was to get different talents involved with the show, as well as act as the emcee in-between acts, including his own.

First place was awarded to Tomoya Kuwabara who beat-boxed and sang. Second place was awarded to Jack Bailey, a singer-songwriter who played the guitar while singing.

Third place was awarded to comedian Ryan Doyle, a.k.a. the Doyler.

Each student won varying amounts of money on gift cards to the on-campus bookstore and dining services.

“I think the event was cool, but I probably wouldn’t have gone up without the support from my JSA (Japanese Student Association) friends,” said Tomoya Kuwabara, a sophomore foreign exchange student from Japan. “The event had really good microphones and I was really happy to make this great memory from open mic while I was here at State because I go back to Japan in a month.”

Competing in an open mic event was also on Kuwabara’s bucket list and he ended up winning a $25 gift card.

He performed as a beatboxer and singer.

There will be two more open mics this semester and the winners of all the different open mics perform in the Battle of the Bands.

The winner of Battle of the Bands then gets a gig in the concert Greenfest puts on later in March.

They open for the famous opener and then the main event finishes off the event. Therefore, open mic nights act as a student’s first step to perform in front of a larger audience on campus.

“Our goal as the music and entertainment committee is to have more students involved and to make these events into a bigger prescence on campus,” Kennedy said. “I want all the spots for open mic to be filled up a week in advance and the ultimate is to use these events to bring people together.”

Kennedy continued to say how much of a presence Greek life has on our campus, but that it is more of a dividing force and separates people.

The Aztec Students Union Board has the ability to bring people together and they strive for that all the time, Kennedy said.

Simultaneously during the open mic night, there was also the event Snapshots of State. The event was arranged by Aztec Pride and consisted of photography from students around the campus.

The event was a contest as well as a showcase for the art. The winner has yet to be announced.

Refreshments were served during the event at the student union including a chocolate fountain with varying foods to dip into it.

There were also other tables for different groups that attended the event.

As part of the Aztec Student Union Board, Greenfest was present at the event advertising presale tickets for their upcoming concert in March. KCR, the on-campus student-run radio station, was also present and recorded different segments of the event. Bassmnt had a table at the event as well.

Aztec Student Union Board’s purpose is to enrich campus life, to educate and to bring people together which they try to achieve through different events targeted at social, education and entertainment activities.

The other two open mic nights will be held on March 9 and April 20 at the same time.

Both events will be held in the Aztec Student Union. If you want to sign up, you can email the Aztec Student Union Board at asub.musicent@gmail.com.