Student Spotlight
MARSHALL MORGAN
I met with Marshall Morgan, school musician, band section leader, and mellophone extraordinaire, to discuss some things about band and it’s many aspects. He, of course, was very willing to speak with me, especially considering I’m his brother and he is open to speaking with me anyway. I’m always looking for a reason to advertise the organization that has given so much to me. I want to give back and Marshall was there to help out.
I started out by asking about his reasoning behind joining band and it surprised me to find that I was the source of his interest in the program. He tells me, “Hmm, I think, mostly, it was like, I would see you out on the field and I would think, ‘That’s pretty cool, I wanna do that.’ “ Marshall was always there behind the scenes, either helping out or watching the band rehearse, so honestly, it was only a natural progression for him to join when he became old enough. As he states, it’s a family to be in the band, and the family experience began for him long before he was eligible to perform with us.
As band members, we’re often misunderstood. The uniforms can be goofy, the director’s are rarely seen by non-members, and some of our members are weird for lack of a better term. This has never helped an already tarnished public image, but we push through to do what we love to do. Marshall explains for us, what it’s like to march his instrument on the field on Friday nights. “So playing my instrument, mellophone (cause it’s more interesting), first of all, you can’t see in front of you the entire time you’re marching, so you have to go off of people beside you in diagonals sort of. And then, making sure you’re valves work because on mellophone you’ll be doing fast parts that will require the use of your valves.” It’s tougher work, really, than he even explained here.
Lastly, he let us in on the secrets of joining band and the perks of doing so. “It’s a good thing to, an interesting thing, to know how to play an instrument. It can in some cases it can get you scholarships which is obvious, as everyone knows. But, something that people really don’t know is that it can get you a group of tightknit who will stick with you through thick and thin.” Who isn’t after a little camaraderie in life? The band members are supporting and encouraging to each other, no matter the background, race, or thoughts on life. We are there to perform and love music as a team and it gets no better than that to me.
Thank you for reading.
taylor owen
Being a full time student is a lot to chew as is but there are those, like Taylor Owen, who add a job, sports and extracurriculars to their plates while still attempting to have a social life. Hopefully her appetite amounts to the portions she’s placed in front of herself.
The key to the upkeep of all three aspects – school, work, and sports – is time management and management in general. Taylor suggests starting one thing, finishing it, and then moving to the next, because in the end it will save more time. That’s sage advice from an upperclassmen that some of the younger students could put to use.
The importance of the three in relation to each other should be determined, with the most important being first. For Taylor, school come first, with juggling of work and sports following, and last, her social life. When trying to balance these things, making an effort is not always enough and there are sacrifices that must be made as well. Taylor says that although she doesn’t always get to hang out with her friends, it’s worth it. When she does get some free time, she usually spends it with friends.
It tends to be difficult for her to manage her time and excel in the mentioned areas of her life. She says homework especially takes up a lot of time, specifically after a game or work. Because of this, Taylor usually only gets six hours of sleep a night, which is more than a couple hours less than the recommended amount for people her age. Regadless, she’s still able to maintain good grades, most of the time, so kudos to her!
As stated by Taylor, managing the aforementioned areas is a stressful task, but with proper pacing and preparation, she can stomach it.