Summit High School talent took center stage at Thump Coffee’s Open Mic Night on Thursday, Jan. 31, transforming the local coffee shop into a hotspot for emerging artists, poets and impressionists. Summit sophomore Gemma Moussa, organized the event in coordination with Summit’s student council, providing a keyboard, microphone and venue for aspiring Summit artists. 

The event encouraged Summit students to participate regardless of their skill or enrollment in an elective music or arts program, providing a unique experience for all artistically inclined students to showcase their passions. 

Not only did Open Mic Night benefit the artists performing, but it also gave the audience a chance to discover artists in our community—with the crowd filling the local coffee shop to the brim and eventually spilling into the outdoors, the open mic was undoubtedly a success and the support was overwhelming. 

“I was so happy with how the open mic turned out, and how many students showed up… I hope to organize another [Open Mic Night] soon,” said Moussa.

Students such as Quinn Raynak and William Huang, both juniors at Summit, shared original songs accompanied by guitar and enjoyed the opportunity to perform.

“I think open mic was a huge success. Being able to bring people into a space like Thump to share their talent and be inspired was such a wonderful community-building experience. I think it was a great turnout and we hope to do it again,” said Raynak.  

Poetry performances were also featured, one being Summit Freshman, Blake Arnold who performed an endearing poem written by Emily Dickinson.

“I thought it was a really cool event and a success to highlight other parts of Summit’s culture,” said Blake Arnold.

In a school where sports are often highlighted, this event provoked excitement surrounding the arts and hope amongst the student body for more art-focused events in the future.