'Career-e-oki' Winner Up to The Job

Feb. 17, 2009 — -- While millions of Americans have been polishing their resumes in hopes of landing a job, many in central Florida were loosening their vocal chords and revving up their Web cams.

It was all part of an unconventional talent show called "Career-e-oki" in which several groups and a central Florida radio station challenged listeners to sing for a job-training scholarship and post their videos on the Internet for the world to judge.

Would you sing to get job training money? Click here to tell "GMA."

"We wanted to look at something that had a positive and light-hearted message throughout such a desperate time in our community," said Jourdan Hathaway of Evok Advertising, the agency that partnered with Workforce Central Florida and Orange County Public Schools to put on the contest.

After dozens of videos hit the Web, the winner was announced today on "Good Morning America" for the first time. Nichole Nagy, a married mother of two, stole the judges hearts with an enthusiastic rendition of "Bad Case of Loving You."

"Doctor, Doctor, give me some news," she belted out in the video while dancing around with her two children, who seemed more bewildered than anything. "I got a bad case of the nursing blues."

For her musical efforts, Nagy won an $8,000 scholarship for job training that she plans on using to become a nurse and, thankfully, not a singer.

Nagy was one of several entertaining contest entries, like Corey Smith, a 3-D artist.

"I do 3-D, that's what I do, and if you need some 3-D done, maybe I can do that for you," Smith sang.

Julia Langston, who lost her job after working for 18 years as an administrative assistant, put her own twist on the "Grease" classic "Summer Lovin'."

"Things were fine until, suddenly, I was laid off when the company downsized," she sang.

Singing on the Internet for the world takes a lot of guts but when the unemployment rate tops 8 percent, as it has in Florida, it can give job hunters guts fast.

"Other than doing some boring advertising, we thought we would do something out of the box," Stephen Hendricks, senior marketing manager for the Orange County school district's Career and Technical Education division told the Orlando Sentinel.

The contest was judged based partly on talent, but also on humor.

"I have no skills for dancing and singing," winner Nagy said. "But what I do have skills in is making people smile."