On Jan. 11, performer Tiffany Albornoz, a senior at Morris Hills, won first place in the musical theater solo category at the Speech and Theatre Association of New Jersey (STANJ) competition.

STANJ is an annual competition where students passionate about the arts can compete in various categories, with Musical Theater Solos being one of the most popular. This category allows students to perform a solo piece from a Broadway musical. Students enter preliminaries, and 10 qualifiers compete in the final round to receive rankings in their category.

This year, Tiffany entered the category with the song, “The History of Wrong Guys,” by Cyndi Lauper, from the Broadway musical Kinky Boots. This lively piece shows a woman named Lauren’s developing crush on the main character, Charlie, as she reconciles with her history of falling for the wrong men. Its comedic nature is one of the reasons Tiffany chose it, explaining, “one of my favorite things to do as an actor is to make an audience laugh, and this song has always yielded me those results.”

Despite her success, Tiffany wasn’t always sure of herself going into the competition, facing her fair share of obstacles. For starters, she initially worried that the song “wasn’t vocally challenging” enough and struggled with self-doubt as she watched her competitors, finding it “hard not to compare [herself] to others.” Nevertheless, her talent and perseverance carried her through.

Tiffany’s advice for future competitors highlights her achievements despite her own doubts. She wants performers to know “[to not] pick a song you think judges want to hear or a song that is vocally challenging just because it sounds cool. Pick a song that speaks to you and you feel confident in.”

“Tiffany makes big choices and allows her character to make those choices,” said Mr. Fahrer, the director of the fall plays at Morris Hills, who also watched her performance.

“She moves with purpose for the character and uses movement when it’s necessary for the character, not necessarily the actor.”

It is a combination of this ability to make choices and grow, alongside her tenacity and her ability to command a stage, that led to Tiffany’s first place win in one of the most challenging categories offered at STANJ.