Point Park’s White named Campus Superstar

Point Park’s Khrista Jana White became Pittsburgh’s 2008 Campus Superstar last night at… Point Park’s Khrista Jana White became Pittsburgh’s 2008 Campus Superstar last night at Carnegie Music Hall after she amazed the crowd with her rendition of “I am Changing” from the musical “Dreamgirls.”

“I can’t even put into words how I feel right now,” White said shortly after being crowned this year’s winner of a $5,000 scholarship from the Hillel Jewish University Center, the organization that sponsored the event.

“I really feel like I accomplished something,” she said.

White received thunderous applause as she accepted her award and sang a brief reprise of her song.

Judge Etta Cox described White as “simply incredible.”

“You are a performer,” she said. Cox is a professional vocalist and has appeared on Broadway, as well as in several City Theatre productions

The field of finalists was cut to 11 after 29 semifinalists competed last month at the William Pitt Union. Those 29 were chosen from more than 100 students who auditioned from Pitt, Carnegie Mellon and Point Park in the fall.

Pitt’s Micah Burket was also one of the finalists. While she didn’t place in the top three, she did stand apart from the rest of the group as she showed off her jazzy, powerful voice.

Burket wore a 1920s-style outfit as she performed “All that Jazz” and received praise from the judges for her talents.

“Different, strong, powerful, wonderful and fantastic” were some of the words judge Lynn Cullen of WPTT talk radio in Pittsburgh used to describe Burket’s performance.

“I had a lot of fun,” Burket said after the show. “We all became so close, nobody had hard feelings.”

The first runner up and winner of a $1,000 scholarship was Jennifer Cherest from Carnegie Mellon. Cherest performed a unique version of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” She sang the entire first verse a cappella, and then the band joined her as she belted her strong voice into the chorus.

The second runner up was CMU’s Tim Ruff, who also received a $1,000 scholarship for his rendition of “When You Say You Love Me.”

The 11 finalists entertained the crowd with their individual performances and also with an exciting group performance at the end of the evening. They performed a medley from the musical “Mama Mia,” which included ABBA songs such as “Dancing Queen” and “Thank you for the music.” The medley was well received by the crowd, who clapped and even danced along with the music.

“We became such a family,” White said. “We weren’t competing against each other up there.”

The family of the late Sanford N. Robinson Sr. of the Memorial Lecture Endowment Fund donated the Campus Superstar scholarship money.