TNL is a talent show hosted by the senior planning class that took place on Feb. 17. “TNL is also somewhat based off of “Saturday Night Live” as there are exciting skits in between acts for audience members to enjoy,” senior Keerthi Padmanabhan said.

Four judges decide the winners. One of the judges was ceramics teacher Malinda Pierce. “I was surprised. It was last minute because someone backed out and they came to me,” Pierce said.

Judges are responsible for evaluating contestants and deciding the winner. “I like the watching part but not the judging part. I don’t know most of the performers but seeing some of them I know outside of the classroom was interesting,” Pierce said.

Pierce has been a judge for TNL twice. TNL being at a late time this year led more people to see the show. “It’s good for the performers. I’m glad it was late so more people could come,” Pierce said.

Another one of the four judges was history teacher Anne-Marie Steppling. This is Steppling’s third time being a judge. Steppling was present when TNL was virtual. “In person is the best for TNL,” Steppling said.

Freshman Jae Edwards was one of the performers. Edwards performed a dance with 6.5 inch stilettos. Their talent started in eighth grade when they discovered hip hop dance. “Ever since then I just wanted to get better and better,” Edwards said.

Edwards said they have always believed in embracing femininity. “I’ve always had femininity so I wanted to put on some sort of shocker while embracing that femininity hence the 6+ inch stilettos,” Edwards said.

Edwards enjoyed the show aside from performing. People they didn’t know came up to them and congratulated them. “I extremely enjoyed it, I had so much fun and people I didn’t even know went up to me telling me how much they liked my performance,” Edwards said.

Although people walked up to them expressing how much they liked their performance, Edwards had mixed emotions. They didn’t know what type of feedback they would receive. “I did have mixed feelings because it was a huge risk from both a physical perspective and mental. I didn’t know what feedback I would get or how people would react,” Edwards said.

TNL ended with three winners, one of them being Edwards, who placed third. First place was senior Elizabeth Ipe singing a mashup of a Hindi song and “Into You.” Her award was $50.