Our FSU Majorettes captain is the beautiful, blonde, and talented Lauryn Vickers from Jacksonville, Florida. Though she is very involved in other campus activities such as SGA, FSView, and being a batgirl for the baseball team, she devotes the majority of her time to doing what she’s most passionate about, and leading a team she loves as family.
Major: Editing, Writing, and Media Age: 20Relationship Status: Single, 100% focused on my future and other things I want to accomplish at FSUExpected Year to Graduate: Spring 2016
Her Campus (HC): Do you remember the first time you picked up a baton to start your career as a twirler? How old were you and what made you want to learn this skill?
Lauryn Vickers (LV): I was 9 when I first started twirling. I fell in love with it right away– it’s a sport that’s not super intense, but is competitive, and it gave me something to focus on. My mom was a baton twirler in high school and I thought I’d give it a try. The rest is history.
(HC): What was it like trying out for the Majorettes for the first time as a freshman?
(LV): Trying out my first year was nerve-wracking. Being on a collegiate line is completely different than competitive baton. It’s all new people from different cities, with different baton backgrounds. It’s a lot to get used to. And since our tryouts are in April, I was still in high school when I tried out. It was my first taste of FSU, and consequently, the team has become my family.
(HC): What advice do you have for students that are thinking about trying out for the Majorettes next year, or for beginners who want to start twirling?
(LV): Again, baton twirling is an awesome thing to get into– it challenges you physically. It involves dance, gymnastics, and a lot of hand-eye coordination. It challenges you mentally, as you’re always thinking about the correct placement of the baton in the air, and it brings out your perfectionist side. Baton twirling is usually done with a team as well, which is the best part. You are with those people so much that they become your family. For anyone considering joining our majorette line, I say go for it 100%. We have such a strong bond and work ethic, and it is such a rewarding experience. Our coach, Karrissa Wimberley, is a world champion baton twirler (people call her the “Tiger Woods” of the baton world), and she pushes us to our absolute best ability. It pays off on Saturdays in Doak.
(HC): What are some of your responsibilities as the captain of the baton team?
(LV): Being captain is a full time job. Most of it is preparation for the season, like managing finances for the team and ordering all of our apparel and costumes. During the year, it involves being a liaison between our coach and the team when she can’t be at practice and being in charge of practice in her absence. I’m always communicating with the team about when and where practices or performances are, and planning different events for the team.
(HC): What has been your favorite part/experience of being on the baton team so far?
(LV): My favorite experience was when we competed this past spring as a team. We traveled to an international competition held in Orlando called “Twirl Mania,” and we placed 2nd in the collegiate line competition. It was great to twirl during Chiefs’ off season, and to place 2nd in the nation our first year of competing.
(HC): Have you had any embarrassing moments performing in front of crowds?
(LV): Yes! Whether it’s accidentally dropping the baton or getting nervous and forgetting what comes next in the routine, sometimes it just happens. It’s part of it. You just have to learn to laugh at yourself, because inevitably you will mess up at least once, and look up to see people in the crowd staring right at you with this look in their eyes like “Oh man, how’s she going to react?” You’ve just got to keep going.
(HC): What is your favorite quote?
(LV): “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time.” -John Kerouac
(HC): Describe the baton team’s relationship with the Marching Chiefs.
(LV): We are a section in Marching Chiefs– some people think we have no close relation other than sharing the football field during halftime. But we do pretty much the exact same things as them. We attend the week and a half preseason training that Chiefs hold two weeks before fall semester begins, we practice every day with them from 4-6 (and we always show up early for team workouts and stay late to perfect our routines), learn drills for the halftime shows, perform at the parades, and stand with them in the stands for every game, as well as travel with them to away games. I am so proud to be a part of Chiefs. It really has made my time at FSU worthwhile.