Carter conducting at Hokies 4 The Hungry 2023! (MV Online Content)
I have been going to Virginia Tech football games my entire life; maroon and orange runs through my blood. I would sit by my Papa and Mama through the warm and sunny, rainy and windy, and whatever weather Blacksburg might bring us during the game. While I was always excited for every touchdown Virginia Tech made, I was more excited of the results of the touchdown — hearing the Marching Virginians play “Tech Triumph!”
I grew up begging my parents not to leave during halftime, saying “we can’t miss the band!” I knew that someday, I would be a dedicated marcher in high school, and furthermore, I would be a part of the Spirit of Tech. However, my dreams of participating in marching band were put on pause when I learned that I would have no high school marching band experience. My friends at other schools bragged about the community and all of the fun that they had at practice and making friends, practicing and rehearsing, and going to band competitions. My freshman year of high school, I remember going to the Virginia Tech football game and thinking “I will never be in that band; I will never be as good as them.”
Carter and Pix friends at dinner on the Military Bowl trip. (Rafael Garcia-Rodriguez)
Entering into my freshman year at Virginia Tech, I applied to the band and went to band camp to try out for the Marching Virginians. I cannot lie, it was overwhelming at first. To show up at a band camp with scores of freshmen sharing their high school experiences, talking about how incredible their high school bands were, terrified me. I thought I would not last. However, I did my best, I pushed to learn, and I worked as hard as I could to be the best marcher I could be. The leadership of the band was nothing but welcoming and encouraging. I remember one of my leaders in the piccolo section sharing with me that she had never marched before coming to Virginia Tech and she was impressed by the progress I was showing. I was determined to finish auditions as strong as I could whether I made the band or not. But let me tell you, to play Tech Triumph for my first time with the Marching Virginians was the most emotional experience I have ever had. I could not help but to cry. I had finally made it to the point I had dreamed about since elementary school. Whether or not I made the final cuts for the band, I finally had reached my goal.
Carter during band camp 2023. (MV Online Content)
Since then, I’ve surpassed that goal and have made it to my next goal, which was to become a member of MV leadership. Now, I am a piccolo rank captain.
I hope my story can be a testimony to what new members of the band can do, regardless of experience, and share what the Spirit of Tech is all about. The Marching Virginians is an organization that cares about community and service. I have made friends that I have gone through some amazing and terrible times with, and I know I can lean on them for anything. I have had some of my greatest memories of college in this band, whether it be at rehearsal laughing on the turf field, standing in the freezing and pouring rain, or jumping during “Enter Sandman” on Worsham Field in Lane Stadium. The Marching Virginians is an experience like no other.
If I could give any advice, tips, and tricks to any new member to the band, experienced or new to the world of marching, I would say you never know until you try. The Marching Virginians care about attitude, integrity, grit, and persistence. It is a matter of trying your best, listening to feedback, staying positive, and contributing as a member of the organization and the band. It takes work, but marching and adjusting to a different band arrangement is not hard if you put your time and effort into it. I now look back as a leader in the band to understand the incredible progress I have made, and how thankful I am to have people like Dr. Polly, Chad, and my section leadership who believed in me from the beginning, even as a new marcher.
There is nothing on this campus more incredible to be a part of than the Marching Virginians. It’s family, it’s support, it’s memories, and it truly is the foundation and the Spirit of Tech.