Two years ago, the average student would find Mark Scroggins a 2006 Grambling State University alumnus gearing up for a performance at GSU’s annual Homecoming talent show.
However, this weekend Scroggins steps onto a bigger stage. “I was selected out of thousands to perform at Showtime at the Apollo in New York City,” he said.Scroggins is set to appear on the show on Saturday and will also appear on the Nov. 3 show. He sounded ecstatic about appearing on the show where stars and legends are born. “It was like a dream come true . . I sent my tape off in April and received a call-back in May while in Arizona,” he explained.
According to Scroggins, 150 people are selected to perform each season on the 70-year-old show. The performers are then responsible for purchasing their plane ticket, hotel accommodations and food while in New York. “It’s hard, but I have prepared myself for situations like this,” the songbird said with a laugh.
Though the performance has sparked media attention from KTBS-TV and The Times in his hometown of Shreveport, Scroggins said he still felt like he owed it to the students at GSU to know about how his dreams are starting to become reality. “I received a lot of support from students and faculty while attending GSU and I want them to know that I am still hard at work,” he said.
Nonetheless, he marks this as an accomplishment but not the end of what the future may hold for him. ” I still have a long way to go. I want to be a singer that brings back music to the levels of what it should be,” he said.
Scroggins currently works in Shreveport at the store his parents own. “After my collegiate experience, I decided to pursue my music career,” he said.
“I perform with my band every Friday at GiGi’s in downtown Shreveport and I’ve even started to build a fan-base,” he said with confidence. Even though he’s busy with singing and working, he still has the time to be the director of his church choir.
Scroggins dreams about becoming successful every day and he won’t stop dreaming until everything becomes reality.
The future for Scroggins seems bright. In the Nov. 6, 2003, edition of The Gramblinite, the headline read, “For Mark, the sky is the limit . or is it?” And he is definitely proving that headline to be true by breaking through barriers to reach full potential.