“Music is the universal language of mankind” were the wise words that third-year student, Erica Sobremonte remembers as she quotes Henry Wadsworth Longfellow regarding her interest in music. Ever since she was young, Sobremonte idolized female artists such as Alicia Keys, Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, that inspired artists, such as Sobremonte, with their bold and powerful voices.

Erica Sobremonte was one of the ten performers that the Performing Arts Club and Human Services Club hosted on their Spartan Mic Night on Nov. 16. The Spartan Mic Night is an event in which performers, such as singers, poets, rappers, dancers, and comedians, can join together to show their talents to a live audience.

“The audience absolutely enjoyed it. We also did something different – we had a couple of donation jars set up that night and we raised fifty dollars to go to Side Street Studio Arts and a Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Center,” said Luke Harmon, President of the Performing Arts Club.

Although Spartan Mic Night is normally under the control of the Performing Arts Club, they decided to collaborate with Human Services Club, to create this production.

“We decided that it would be easier to collaborate on the Spartan Mic Night and have it benefit both of our clubs as we exchange thoughts and ideas on what we wanted out of the event,” Harmon said.

For Erica Sobremonte, the Spartan Mic Night was a great opportunity for her and her friends to show off their skills.

“Actually, it was my friend Bryan who brought up the idea for all of us to perform at the mic night. Outside of school though, we are not an actual band. We’re just a group of friends who have known each other for a while now and like jamming out together,” Sobremonte said.

As a third-year student, planning on finding an occupation in the medical field, Sobremonte states that music is not something she sees as a future career. However, she does believe that performing can benefit many students.

” Music will always be a big part of me and will stay with me for the rest of my life even though I do not make a career out of it,” Sobremonte said, “My advice to students who like performing but are scared: don’t think too much about who’s watching you out there. Do it because you love what you do whether you’re playing an instrument, singing, or even both. Do it to inspire others out there to get into the world of music, to inspire other musicians to perform as well.”

For third-year student, Kori Stoll, music is a career she plans on pursuing.

“I decided to perform at Spartan Mic Night because the first time I did it, was the first time I had performed in a while, and since then I will take any opportunity I can to perform because I realize how much I love it. Although, I am not looking to perform professionally. I would like to teach elementary school music at some point,” Stoll said.

Stoll accredits her interest in music to high-school choir teacher, Jeff Nesseth, and artists such as Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride.

Spartan Mic Nights are open to any ECC student who is interested in performing.

“I recommend students to come to our Performing Arts Club general meetings; where many of our members are students who have participated in Spartan Mic Night previously. If they cannot make it to our meetings, contact me at [email protected] and I can be a source for any questions they need,” Harmon said.