Ursuline’s Got Talent!
Virtual Gala: Saturday, December 12, 2020 by Susan Hehir, Director of Alumnae Relations
It was March 13, 2020, and plans were underway for Ursuline’s 13th annual signature fundraiser, “An Evening for Ursuline,” which was scheduled for November 20th. The caterer was working to create a delicious menu for guests, the lighting designer and rental company had been secured, and discussions to decide on a host for the evening were being explored. But by March 16th, life as we knew it had dramatically changed, and schools and businesses across the state and the country were forced to shift to a remote learning model due to the pandemic. Over the course of the summer of 2020, ideas for a virtual gala were explored. How would we do this? What would it look like? Would people attend? Thanks to the fantastic production team at Cramer, a Westwood-based event and content marketing agency with close ties to the Ursuline community, a plan was mapped out minute by minute, and by the end of August, a talent show theme was beginning to take shape. “Ursuline’s Got Talent!” was born! A request for talent video submissions went out to the entire Ursuline Academy community, and narrowing the twenty-four talent video submissions down to five finalists was a very real challenge for our judges. Guests voted “live” for the performers and when votes were tallied, 1st place went to drummer Dana Lepper ’23 and 2nd place went to figure skater Sophia-Ray Richer ’26. The other finalists were singer Bella Coe ’21, singer Mary Kate McDonald ’20, and pianist Alexis Lee ’25. In addition to those winners, special performances were featured by opera singer Siena Forest ’08 and Pauline Wells P’22. Thanks to all who sponsored, made donations, attended virtually, purchased auction items, and voted, Ursuline’s first virtual gala was a huge success! It exceeded our goal and raised over $130,000 in support of Ursuline’s educational experience. And now we are preparing to do it again!
Join us for Ursuline’s Got Talent 2021 40
December 12, 2021
ursulineacademy.net/gala
