From conducting under the Friday night lights to spending hours practicing her instrument, it all took a lot of time, hard work, and dedication to achieve her goals – but that didn’t stop her from doing so.

Senior Bree Russell is a drum major for the Battlin’ Bear Band alongside junior Valen Elliott and fellow senior Jessica Longlois. She said she decided to audition for this leadership role as a junior so she would be able to conduct during her senior year.

“Being the drum major was a great adventure but was also very stressful,” Russell said. “I decided to be drum major because I felt like I could impact the band in a positive way.”

Along with being a drum major, Russell is also an All-Area oboe player, who has played since sixth grade. Russell said she believes playing music is a great way to cope with problems going on in life and there’s always a piece of music to describe how she is feeling.

“I love playing music because each piece has a story and the adventure to try and give that story meaning is worth struggling to give the story justice,” Russell said.

In addition to her drum major duties, Russell was also trumpet section leader her junior year. She is also in National Honor Society and is in a Catholic youth group at her church. In order to stay on top of all of her various activities, she has had help from a few different influential people in her life.

“I have had many mentors, including my band director Mr. Schoppert, but I do believe that Ms. Yim, my seventh grade band director, sparked my passion for music,” Russell said.

Russell said she plans to continue her music career after graduating in May. She plans to start college at Navarro College in Corsicanna and major in General Studies while minoring in Oboe Performance. Altogether, she wants to be a pediatric occupational therapist.

“I have to be mentally strong to push myself every day,” Russell said. “It is easy because it’s something I really love doing.”