And now…the end is near…and so I face…the final curtain…
At the end of each UMass Marching Band show, we gather on the field as a family. We link arms, we hold hands, and we sing our anthem, “My Way.” The song is a tradition of the UMMB, and will forever remind me of my times here at UMass with my second family. It emphasizes that this experience was mine.
Aside from the fact that I owe most of my college career to the UMass Marching Band, in writing a resume, I’m realizing how much I learned from the organization itself.
I thank the UMMB for teaching me…
1. When you think you can’t, you can. This year at band camp, the UV rating was very high. The sun was unbelievably strong, and the entire band seemed to have sun poisoning. However, we continued to rehearse until we had properly prepared ourselves for the season. We had our first show that Saturday. What it comes down to is our work ethic is developed in these extreme conditions. You learn how to persevere through your own negative thoughts to better the group as a whole.
2. I was taught to look out for one another. On my first day of college, the UMMB was essentially handed to me as a community of 400 people looking out for my silly freshman self. I had a group of upperclassmen to show me around classes, people to borrow books from, and what essentially became a family. All of my bad days, I had someone to talk to—and all my good days I had people to celebrate with.
3. I had to be organized. The UMMB’s travel schedule is extensive, and often takes up most of my free time in the fall. As soon as my freshman year began, I was scheduling when I could do homework so that my weekends could be free for travel. I learned how to keep an agenda, have a to-do list, and wake up when I absolutely had to.
4. I learned how to communicate effectively. Something that many may not know is that the organization is so large that different student groups handle different operations within the band. These different groups include merchandise staff, PR staff, uniform staff, equipment staff, and many, many more. Because of this, in order to get anything done we learned the art of composing an e-mail, having a professional phone conversation, and even meeting face-to-face with these different groups to ensure that the ensemble can still function.
5. Performance is a valuable skill for a number of reasons. Most importantly, performing teaches you to cut the drama out of your life. In order to go on and have a good show, you have to shake off that bad phone call you had, that terrible grade, that fight you had—and just focus on your hard work. If you don’t, you’ll have a bad show—which directly affects the way the rest of the ensemble’s show goes. The band program teaches you to focus on the task at hand, and leave the personal garbage in the dust.
All of my favorite college memories are related to marching band. I met all of my best friends through the band, and even my boyfriend. I’ll never forget marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or performing for 100,000 people at Penn State University—but more than anything I’ll never forget the connections I made with this 400 person organization.
For more photos like these, or more information on the UMMB, please visit powerandclass.info