Mundelein resident Gerardo Ocampo was driving his wife and child home from the airport when he received a call from his supervisor at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville.
“I thought, did I forget to tell her something? She sounded so serious,” he recalled thinking.
His supervisor was actually calling to congratulate him on being one of nine finalists in the Advocate Health Has Talent competition. This year, 65 people entered the competition.
It wasn’t until the next day, when he read an email at work about his being a finalist, though, that it actually “dawned on him,” he explained. When it did, “It was a beautiful feeling,” he declared.
Finalists are chosen by Gat3, an organization that runs the competition for Advocate Health. The number of finalists each year varies depending on the number of auditions and talent, according to Ally Bunin, Vice President of Strategic Advisory & Leadership Activation, People & Culture.
The competition is open to anyone who works for the Advocate Health system. Ocampo has worked at Advocate Health for 12 years, where he is the on-site customer service representative.
“It involves talking to patients directly, face-to-face, or receiving calls from either Sherman or Good Shepherd for patients that have any questions in regards to their billing, their insurance, they need a payment plan, they need a status on their possible financial assistance, as well as printing out any itemized bills,” Ocampo said of his position. It is basically “helping patients navigate through the challenging world of their benefits.”
More Top Picks Best Fermentation Temperature Controllers
Ocampo said that he decided to enter Advocate Health Has Talent because “I have been singing for quite a while.” He noted that once or twice each year during either Cinco de Mayo or Hispanic Heritage Month, he sings in the cafeteria for employees.
In addition, “I used to sing in different venues, like The Excalibur Nightclub in Chicago,” he reported. “We opened up once at the Aragon Theatre.” Ocampo also does voice-over work.
Ocampo’s submission to the competition was “Sabor a Mi.” “It’s a bolero,” he said. “I adore boleros because to me they not only show my Latin roots but they’re mainly about love and nostalgia. It’s almost like a vintage sound that you don’t hear a lot anymore. I remember my mother singing some of those boleros. That stayed with me since my childhood.”
As a finalist, on the 26th of August Ocampo flew to Charlotte, North Carolina to record a video for the Advocate Health website. Afterwards, he did an interview.
Ocampo admitted about that interview. “I don’t get nervous onstage or singing in front of people, but I did get super nervous in the interview.”
People can vote as many times as they want to for their favorite of the nine contestants for the People’s Choice Award until Oct. 9. To vote, visit careers.advocatehealth.org/2026/09/21/advocate-health-has-talent-voting-open-through-oct-9.
“Winners will receive a monetary award as well as a trophy. We are still working through the amount for each winner and finalist,” said Ally Bunin. “We do not have a final performance planned, but we will be sharing a Grand Finale video of all the performances, background stories, judging and winners, and it will be available to the public.”
Ocampo admitted that becoming a finalist “Did light up that fire again” inspiring him to continue singing.
He is now looking for musicians who are interested in playing his genre of music with him. “I’ll just keep on looking,” Ocampo said.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.