Walking down memory lane is fun, but marching down it can be even better.
This fall, St. Ambrose introduced the Fighting Bee Band program, and faculty and staff who participated in marching band in high school and college are thrilled to know SAU students now are experiencing something that ranks among their own fondest scholastic memories.
The new program offers scholarships, class credits and leadership opportunities. Students in any major field of study are eligible. It served as a stadium band this football season. With larger numbers, it should morph into a marching band by 2018.
"Try it, if only as an extra-curricular activity away from your major," said Matt Halfhill, PhD, a biology professor and college and high school trumpet player.
Halfhill said making music on the march is a creative, aerobic release. Jodi Prosise, PhD, an engineering and physical science associate professor, agreed.
"It was a stress reliever," Prosise said, remembering her time marching with a trumpet as an undergraduate at Iowa State University. "It's important to have something to keep you happy and stimulate your brain in another way."
Megan Cooney is in her first year as director of athletic bands at St. Ambrose. She's either been on a drumline or instructing band students since her first year of high school. She launched the newest athletic bands era at St. Ambrose with a band camp in August.
"A summer without the smell of sunscreen, the sounds of a drumline and the infamous call of ‘Reset!' is foreign to me," Cooney said. "I am honored to be in a position where I can help create great memories for SAU Fighting Bees band students."
The best memories, old band folks say, come via the friendships they built through marching band. It's a family of friends, all sharing their love of music-with the common enemy of band hat plumes.
"My marching experience gave me an instant support group and the best support network," Halfhill said. "I still talk to my pep band and marching band friends."
Seconded Mary Heinzman, executive director of library and information resources technology as well as college band member, "It gives you the best friendships that you'll keep forever."
For some, maybe more. Prosise met her husband on the marching band field.
"We both played trumpet, but were just acquaintances at first," she recalled. "We were both majoring in mechanical engineering. Funny, I didn't know he was in all my classes, but he knew. We became best friends over five years and got engaged after graduation. So many of our friends met in band and got married."
Marching bands are a part of St. Ambrose's history, and Athletics Director Ray Shovlain '79, '82 MBA said an athletic band is something that still makes good sense today.
Old marching trumpet players agree.
"St. Ambrose is an inviting place already, but an opportunity like this is the quintessential learning community," Halfhill said.
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