The clock reads 8:15 p.m. and the crowd is a hurricane of activity and high energy. A week of intense preparations and practice has led up to this final deciding moment. The judges have selected their top choices for each of the categories, and hopefully a winner too. At the end of the day, only one of the seven anxious contestants lined up on the stage will be bestowed with the title of, “Mr. BC 2019.” As the crowd’s murmurs get louder, Tylan Farrokhnia’s (‘20) booming voice cuts through the noise to announce the next Mr. BC, “And the winner is…!”

The week of December 1 was an important time period for the junior class of 2021, marked by a tradition that has been going on for many years here at Brookfield Central: the Mr. BC Competition. Mr. BC, a contest open to all junior males, is a celebration of talent, comedy, and spirit. This particular year, the contest showcased the abilities and personalities of seven exceptional individuals: Emmett Bartels, Jalen Francis, Louai Hassanein, Aditya Kurre, Will Selkey, Sam Patterson, and Sam Dawood. Along with the seven contestants, our four judges included Mrs. Fogltanz, Mrs. Ordinans, Mr. Harkins, and Tylan Farrokhnia, winner of the 2018 competition; the hosts for the evening were Kacey Stewart (‘21) and Zach Clark (‘21).

In order to qualify for the contest itself, all the participants were required to meet the criteria for four different categories of the competition. These categories included fundraising, self-expression, talent, and question rounds. Each participant was required to fundraise a minimum amount that would go towards the class funds and create a two-minute video that represented who they were. Their video, along with a talent of their choice, would be presented to the audience the day of the competition, and the night would be concluded with answers to the creative questions presented before them. “The idea of the whole thing was really fun and I enjoyed every minute of it, but the short window for fundraising made things a little rushed,” said Bartels, one of the individual category winners.

The evening of Friday, December 6 brought audience members from all grade levels to come and see the competition unfold. All the participants were equally as nervous as they were excited to perform and see how things would turn out. “I really had no expectations going in though,” said Kurre, “I was there to have fun and make people laugh.” The rounds started promptly at 7:10, with each student presenting their video and showcasing their talent. Finally, the questions were asked and after much analysis and calculation, each category winner and the overall winner was announced. The category winners were as follows: Fundraising – Emmett Bartels, Self Expression – Will Selkey, Talent – Sam Patterson, and Questions – Aditya Kurre, and the winner of the 2019 Mr. BC title, Sam Dawood! The win definitely came as a surprise to Dawood. “My favorite part was seeing everyone’s talents, but I honestly never expected to win so that part made the night even better,” he said.

The event itself turned out to be a huge success. However, the path of making the vision a reality came with much hard work, communication, and cooperation. The junior class council itself spent hours after school planning, rehearsing and talking things out to make sure everything would run smoothly the night of. “The hardest part undoubtedly was selling tickets and trying to coordinate things together in a short period of time,” said class liaison Manasvi Paturu (‘21), “but in the end, it was really special to see it all come together.”

Nevertheless, looking back at all the steps it took to bring everything together, many will agree that the week’s preparations finally paid off when all the pieces came together. December 6 was an eventful night to remember for our audience, judges, and all of our contestants. Congratulations to Sam Dawood and all of the category winners!