Although the school year is coming to a close, there is an exciting new page being turned on the start of a brand new journey for some. Junior Brooklyn Leonard and sophomores Abigail Shelley and Madison McDonald are preparing to embark on the journey of leading the Battlin’ Bear Band through competitions and Friday night football games. These three band members have been selected as the drum majors for the 2022-2023 school year. 

The process of trying out for drum major requires an abundant amount determination and preparation. It takes an ample amount of discipline and patience to be selected as one of the three recipients of this position. Each drum major is held to a higher standard than other students, and uphold a high level of leadership. Tryouts are meant to refine students in these areas, and weed out those who are fit to hold this position. 

“The tryout has two parts: conducting and the interview,” sophomore Madison McDonald said. The tryout process started with me grabbing an application and writing an essay about why I wanted to be a drum major. We had a mock tryout the day before to get critiques to prepare us before our real tryout.” 

Making the decision to take on this role requires lots of thought and sought out advice. Many auditionees received encouragement from family and friends to persevere through tryouts and take steps to achieve the position of drum major. Junior Brooklyn Leonard looked to one of her peers for inspiration. 

“Kaylee Potter inspired me to tryout for drum major,” Leonard said. “She helped me through every step of the journey.” 

As leaders in the band, it is important for drum majors to aspire to teach fellow band members lessons they feel are important to pass on. This is a major part of stepping into this leadership role full force and earning the respect of peers in order to lead well. There is much knowledge to be passed down from drum majors to marchers, and each of these three girls have set their sights on ways to pass down learned wisdom to educate those bellow them. 

“I hope to teach next year’s band members to march as well as to have fun,” sophomore Abigail Shelley said. “I also want to teach them to give it their all because it goes by fast.” 

There is much to look forward to for these new drum majors. From learning the ins and outs of conducting, to Friday night lights, competitions, and leading their peers, there are many exciting journeys on the horizon for the band. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone grow as individuals and Friday nights,” Leonard said.