The most anticipated event of the year, Academy Awards, was this past weekend- and it might have been the best show Notre Dame Academy has ever seen. Owen Brummel passed on the crown and cape to Mr. NDA 2020, junior Owen Campbell. 

I was fortunate to have been chosen to emcee the event with Leya AbuJamra after auditioning in early January. Because of this, I can offer a unique perspective on the event that no one else can.

Leya and I began writing the script January 16th, two weeks before the show date. We sent out a questionnaire of about 20 questions to the contestants, so we could incorporate the answers into their stage introductions. 

Using the script from the previous year as an outline, we replaced the old information with our new sponsors, contestant acts and all the rest. This took a lot of time, so we met outside of school about four times. 

Although the script was finished Thursday, two days before the show, final changes were made Saturday afternoon, and they were printed shortly after. Leya and I read through everything once in the evening to practice our timing. Before we knew it, it was showtime.

Our incredible umbrella entrance was something never done before by the emcees. Wanting to spice up our entrance, Frau implemented it that day after she and her daughter, Maddie, wrote the choreography. 

I actually didn’t see Leya at all during the show when we weren’t on stage. Because we only had a few minutes before each introduction, neither of us left our spots on either side backstage. This wasn’t a problem, however, as thankfully we didn’t run into any script mishaps during the show. 

After being involved in Academy Awards many different ways in the past, being an emcee was my favorite role by far. I knew six years ago when my brother Anthony was a contestant that I wanted to emcee. He and I also bonded a lot through sharing experiences of traditions, such as the Saturday morning breakfast.

Freshman year, I was a rampateer for senior Jack Mickelson. We became great friends through the show and still talk every once in awhile. I found friendship in a lot of the seniors that year, which meant a lot as a mere freshman. However, I enjoyed being an emcee even more. 

As an emcee, I grew closer to a lot of the contestants that I hadn’t previously known very well. I saw many of the videos while they were still a work in progress and watched them practice their acts after school during the days leading up to the performance. 

I’m so honored that I was chosen to be a part of this amazing show as an emcee. It was definitely one of the highlights of my high school career thus far.