Daily Collegian - For The Glory Talent Show spurs competition and pumps up students for homecoming (Omega 1st Place)

Twenty-eight Penn State organizations showcased their talents Tuesday night, battling for three spots to perform on the stage at Penn State THON 2018, and the crowd was seemingly captivated by each themed performance.

To kick off the show, the student court performed a choreographed dance to a few current songs. Some of the competing performances included favorite childhood memories, like Spongebob, High School Musical and Hercules, while others tugged at the heartstrings.

Atlas, an independent THON organization, took the crowd through the journey of two freshmen as they joined the organization and made their way through the year to end with dancing on the floor at THON.

The Lions Ambassadors threw a twist into their daily tours by adding a group of aliens whose ship crashed and their mission was to help them return to space with Penn State pride.

Whiplash, the winners of Monday's homecoming dance competition, ended the night with a powerful performance that left the crowd amped for the remaining homecoming events this week.

Vole and Theta Chi won first place with their electric jazz performance incorporating The Great Gatsby.

Mary Decavalcinte (senior-mathematics), of Vole, said the performance was based off of a dance in their fall showcase this past weekend that they tweaked, making it adaptable for the Theta Chi members.

Saif Khalil (senior-civil engineering), president of Theta Chi, stepped in last minute.

"I was pretty nervous going up there," Khalil said. "I thought some of the other performances were just as good as ours, if not a little bit better."

Khalil said Theta Chi has never had the opportunity perform at THON but are so happy to finally do it for the kids.

Decavalcinte said she is excited Vole won first place in the talent show but also that they get to share the stage with Theta Chi.

"It feels amazing just going out there in front of the kids and performing for them," Khalil said. "It's going to be such an honor."

Decavalcinte and Khalil agreed that they both thought they would end up in the top three but did not expect to be number one.

"It came as a complete shock to me," Khalil said. "I'm still shooketh right now."

Penn State Alumni Association CEO Paul Clifford, THON 2018 Executive Director Andrew Smith, Thespian President Christie Fisher and Camp Kasem Central PA Director Alexa Mellon were the judges of this year's talent show and selected the winners based on the evaluations on organization, appearance, creativity, preparation and connection to the "Embrace the Journey, Roar with Pride."

Reve Dance Company used their spells to capture second place with a Harry Potter themed number. Phi Kappa Sigma and Orchesis performed a childhood favorite of the best Spongebob moments, and were awarded third place.

Emily Chertow (senior-broadcast journalism), one of the emcee's of the talent show, said it was really awesome to be a part of homecoming, a special tradition that has been going on for so long, for a university that has given her a lot.

"It was just so fun to be up on the stage and see such an awesome community of Penn State and be celebrating such a great thing with such a really great university is something special," Chertow said. "Being able to give back makes it a little more fun."

Chertow said her favorite part was being able to be herself with her co-captain and introducing the awesome performances of her peers and students. She also said it was hard to choose her favorite among the many.

"My favorite would be Atlas's THON themed performance," Chertow said. "There was just so many points in it that gave me chills and made me think 'oh my gosh, that's so similar to how THON goes' and it got me really excited for THON."

Homecoming will continue on Wednesday with the Best of Penn State Carnival hosted on the HUB lawn from 1 to 6 p.m.