 I've never been part of something so rich in tradition as the All-American marching band. I love when we walk past the student section they all go crazy for the band. It's just a rush I don't get anywhere else. When I'm on the field the adrenaline's crazy. It's amazing getting to see how a lot of the traditions that started back when the band first started here have stuck around today. I think that's what makes our marching band different than others. Persistence in grit has gotten me to where I am today just because I wouldn't be here if I hadn't put in all the hours of practice and blood sweat and tears. I started twirling baton when I was six years old. At my first national competition I sat and watched all the college twirlers competing against each other and representing their schools and one of the first schools I noticed was the Purdue twirlers and ever since that day I've wanted to come here and twirl here in front of a huge crowd at all the football games and basketball games. I try to say that I'm the 32nd Golden Girl any time I reference that I have the position because I like to give credit to all the people that came before me. They're all some of my biggest inspirations and they're all amazing women and amazing twirlers and I'm so excited to be able to follow in their footsteps. The Golden Girl tradition started back in the 1950s when the star quarterback at the time he was nicknamed the Golden Boy and at the time the band director had a twirler leading the band and it was decided that the quarterback needed a counterpart so they nicknamed the twirler the Golden Girl. Going into my tryouts I was looking to just meet more people out of the experience. I knew that becoming here to twirl but other than that I just wanted to make friends that I would have forever. I didn't know anyone when I came here to Purdue and I instantly bonded with my teammates on the twirling team so it definitely gave me more of a sense of home because it felt like I was back home twirling with my friends that I've known forever. Making a lot of connections and new friends within the marching band has definitely set me up to more success here on campus. Just hearing other clubs and roles that the other twirlers are in inspires me to want to join those clubs that they're in and push myself to be like them. In high school I marched all four years we had a very good band family going on so I wanted to continue that when I moved on to the university since I knew that it would be a great way to find a community. I found that while I know that it's still large and I won't know everyone I found that once you put yourself out there you start to get to know a little bit of everyone also starts to get to know a little bit of you so walking into a building and having someone say hi Andrew and you've maybe met them once is kind of special because that's like something you do back home. I've been in the trumpet section my entire time at Purdue so my third year this fall I'm starting as one of the student leaders in the trumpet section. I'm excited about being a student leader because I like helping people grow when I like to also improve myself and that's a good way to improve yourself is to teach. Here we have a student leadership team in every section that really works to not only fill in the gap but also improve what directors don't have the time to see what the band of almost 400 people. I think the student leadership team really fills in the gap but also adds more to our experience and is what makes us unique. Within the first week of us on each other before class started there are already friend groups that I know there are still great friends today and I'm sure they'll continue to be for the next few years. Everyone that I've met in one way or another will be close to me after I graduate and we all leave Purdue whether they're co-workers or they're just friends that we run into or just even people that we only see each other if we come back for alumni band I think we'll all be pretty close. My role is the captain of the World's Artist Drum. In the drums history we've only had eight women be a part of it I would be number eight. I'm very honored to be one of these few people who have gotten to do this. The drum is one of the university's icons. The World's Artist Drum is 100 years old it was built in 1921 when director of bands at the time Paul Spots Emrick said that he wanted a drum larger than the man playing it. I actually came to Purdue originally auditioning on clarinet but on the second day of band camp Dr. Nave our percussion director pulled me from the section and had me audition on the big bass drum. One thing that really drew me in was the history just being a part of the crew is being a part of the crew's history. In the marching band we have a very set standard that everybody on the student leadership team acts as a servant leader so we work very hard to make sure everybody else has such an easy time to accomplish their goals go to places have opportunities. As a captain and a student leader it's really nice to help other people experience everything that I've gotten to as part of the band. The marching band is my small step to finding my fit here at Purdue because of the people I've been able to meet during the season during band camp. I've made friends throughout concert bands throughout the marching band. We have volunteer management teams that are all student led. I know for me personally without those people I probably wouldn't have succeeded as well as I did in my major as well as I did in the marching band and I definitely wouldn't be the leader I am today if it wasn't for everybody here to make Purdue my second home. One big thing looking back is just that as a captain I've gotten to create the next generation of people to share the history and the traditions and everything that we really stand for. The marching band has been a small step towards finding a home at Purdue. I have found it to be something that keeps me grounded but also gives me a place to connect with others and then keep building connections over the years. During my time in the marching band I've definitely gained better relationships with my teammates and bonds that I know that I'll have the rest of my life. I'm with these girls basically every day so you can imagine that our bond is pretty close and I'm excited to continue trialing with them.