Studs and Key Club flex for charity
A stage floods with the most glamorous boys of NPHS. They beam to the audience, bringing laughs, banana costumes and style to the audience. Costing $5, the annual Stud Pageant, hosted by Key Club, is an enjoyable time for all, as a select group of boys have fun being interviewed, showing off their ‘talents’ and entertaining a crowd.
Kyle Yasui, junior, participated in the event this year, but also serves with the school’s Key Club. “The Stud Pageant was a fundraiser to help to continue to raise money for the ELIMINATE Project, which partners with UNICEF and Kiwanis (the parent organization of Key Club) which sets the goal to eliminate maternal neonatal tetanus in children across the world. We raised over $400 with the Stud Pageant alone which was so great,” Yasui said.
The event was broken into three parts for the studs to perform: spirit wear, formal wear and a talent portion. Throughout the process, these studs were accompanied by interviews conducted by hosts Tam Le and Jason Lu, seniors.
“We would introduce the studs, during the portion when the studs were changing out we would have to keep the audience … captivated. We gave background on what the stud pageant was all about and also just help the studs get their stuff together. Tam and I helped out to plan how the actual stud pageant would go, since I did it last year, I knew a little bit on how it ran. So I kind of helped figure it all out, because there were new people organizing the event this year,” Lu said.
The studs were judged on answers to their interviews, talents and overall ‘studliness,’ which resulted in a win for David Smith and Rahul D’Souza, sophomores.
Smith and D’Souza had to crunch during the last minute, desperately searching for an act to perform during the show’s talent portion, they went to their last resort.
“The day before, we were deciding what to do and then we decided to lip sync and do ASMR, and so we planned that and gave them our plans the day of, and then we just went up without rehearsal and it worked somehow,” Smith said.
Smith and D’Souza were one of the many exquisite talents to take the stage at the Stud Pageant. Kai Sebastian, senior, spun his staff to Disney’s “I’ll Make a Man Out of You. Yasui did a stand up comedy skit ranging from bathrooms to airplane food. Zak Logie, sophomore, opted to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with a guitar… shirtless.
The journey to become the top stud of Newbury Park was not an easy one. Smith and D’Souza encountered experiences that will be forever remembered. “I had 12.5 fun experiences, three awkward experiences, and 30 really awkward experiences,” Smith said.
A hilarious night for a good cause has impacted Yasui, who will be in charge of the event along with Key Club his senior year. He encourages all students to consider joining the club, as they can have fun, while raising money for a good cause. “We do not make keys you use to unlock doors. The only keys we make are the keys to unlocking your full potential as a leader and as a change in your community. If you decide to get involved with Key Club, even as a senior, you will meet the most dedicated people and you will gain so much experience from just serving our causes,” Yasui said.
