NC State Goes Bowling…
Post by Andrea Ertz
Me and two of my sorority sisters at the bowl game!
Hi everyone! I’m Andrea Ertz and this is my first blog. I am from Burlington, Iowa and I’m a sophomore majoring in Biological Sciences and working toward a minor in Spanish. I am involved in many things here at NC State including basketball pep band, marching band, Pre-Health club, and I am one of the founding sisters of the Tri-Delta chapter at NCSU. One of my favorite activities is marching band. Not only do we get to go to every game without worrying about if we’ll get tickets or not, but we also get to travel to some of the away games!
One of the highlights of my marching band career so far has been going to the Papajohns.com Bowl this past winter break! Even though I had a pretty rough time getting back to Raleigh in order to go to the game, I ended up making it to the airport at 2:00am after my flight was delayed 5 hours in Chicago. I was worried that I would miss the bus! My wonderful friends were there to pick me up at the airport, even though we had to be at Price Music Center less than six hours later. We left Raleigh at 9:00am Saturday, December 27th and took charter buses all the way to Birmingham, Alabama.
This is me and a bunch of my band friends at dinner one night
After our lunch and dinner breaks, it ended up taking 10 or 11 hours to get there! We stayed in a nice hotel for two nights and it was a lot of fun. There was a pep rally on Sunday night where our band played and Coach O’Brien and a few of the football players talked. The bowl game was Monday, December 29th at 2:00pm. The game was a lot of fun although Russel Wilson ended up getting hurt in the 3rd quarter and was out for the rest of the game. We ended up losing 29-23 but it was still such a fun game! Our band performed on the field during halftime and that was awesome!
Reuben Studdard singing the National Anthem
We left immediately after the game and ended up getting back into Raleigh at about 6:00 the next morning. It was a pretty exhausting trip but I was glad to escape the freezing Iowa winter where there had been snow and freezing rain since I got home on December 16th. I definitely appreciated the 60 and 70 degree weather in Alabama! Although marching band season is over, now I have pep band to look forward to. Hope to see everyone at some of the games…Go Wolfpack!
Ms. Wuf singing
Go Pack!!
Andrea - great blog post and it’s good to see someone psyched about marching band. I am currently the Captain of my high school band (Leesville HS in Raleigh) and plan to keep on playing and marching through college. Hopefully, it will be NCSU (so my first choice) this fall. I’m deferred right now and crossing my fingers big time. I just got stellar grades 1st semester and sent them on to State, so I’m hoping that will help me get in. I’ve seen the NCSU band play at a couple of football games - bet it’s fun. — March on, Justin Allen
Hi, I noticed you were an out of state student. If you don’t mind me asking, how were you able to finance college?I ‘m an out of state student also, and I’ve been accepted.
I am a band geek too. I am a section leader of my high school band in New York. I want to continue in college. Does everyone make the band? I’ve already been accepted and am trying to decided which school to go to. My state school at 16K a year or NC State at 30K a year! Are there any New Yorker’s at NC State? Would I fit in at a southern school?
Angela
LaCourtney,
After submitting the FAFSA, I was selected to be in the Pack Promise Scholars program. This program meets 100% of your financial need. I also did a work study job on campus during the school year. Good luck!!
Angela,
I don’t know if absolutely everyone makes the band but if you have been in it in high school and you are able to play a couple scales and sight read I’m sure you will make it!! Deciding to do band in college has been one of the greatest decisions I have ever made! We have so many traveling opportunities and I was able to meet the people who became my best friends before school even started! I know that out-of-state tuition is a lot more but I have been having the time of my life and think it is so worth it! Actually one of my really good friends is from New York, I think he is from around Rochester!! I think you would fit in great at a southern school, everybody is so nice and welcoming I feel right at home here! Good luck with the decision!
Hi, My name is Brian Allison and I have been in marching band all four years of high school. I was the caption of the woodwind section this past year. I am a flute player, but have played drums and bells. I love marching band and enjoy the friendships made. I will be attending state in the fall and wish to become part of States marching band. What do I need to do to make this happen? Thanks for any information you can provide.
You can try out for marching band during your orientation at Price Music Center (right next door to Talley) and if you’ve already had orientation you can try out during band camp I’m pretty sure (Aug. 12th is when it starts I think). Just contact the director Dr. Garcia at paul_garcia@ncsu.edu. Good luck!!!