Junior Katie Kennedy has gotten the opportunity to join a world class Color Guard show over the summer. Kennedy is going to be performing with the Madison Scouts DCI (Drum Corps International) team this summer, after spending her sophomore and junior years in the guard teams at BV.

“I tried out because I had overheard [for] the entirety of my time in marching band and guard [that] DCI is the big thing.” Kennedy said, “So I had always wanted to go into it.”

What sealed the deal for Kennedy, however, was watching past DCI performances in her research of the program.

“If you want a well done Drum Corps show, look up Phantom Regiments 2011 [and] 2008,” Kennedy said. “Both of those shows are my favorites. The moment I saw Spartacus I was like, ‘I want that, I belong there.’”

DCI and Color Guard loom large in Kennedy’s visions for her future, as she hopes to continue with it as long as she can.

“I hope to do DCI for a few more years, but it really depends on the situation of that summer,” Kennedy said. “If I get offered an internship, I’m going to choose [that] pushing towards a career I want. My education and my job in the future are going to be more important than guard – guard is not going to pay my bills.”

Kennedy is extremely dedicated to her passion for guard and her desire to have a future in the sport. Color Guard programs have been a “big role” in Kennedy’s “choices for colleges.”

“I do want to be a part of my school’s guard,” Kennedy said. “But not many schools have well developed guard teams, and many of them don’t even have programs.”

Promising as it may be, in seizing this opportunity, Kennedy is missing out on the beginning of her senior year of Color Guard at home – the entirety of band camp.

“I’ve been communicating with my current guard coach a lot. I am missing the entire summer, and that includes band camp,” Kennedy said. “I’m still going to be a part of the guard. I’m still going to be there, I’m still captain. It’ll be a lot of learning when I get back.”

As a captain for the Color Guard at BV, it’s important that Kennedy bonds with and gets to know the team members, and she’s also missing out on a critical period for those developments.

“I’m really upset that I won’t get to make the relationships with all the new [kids],” Kennedy said. “I’m also kind of upset that I’m going to be missing my senior year band camp, that’s my favorite time of the entire year.”

After carefully and extensively weighing the pros and cons, Kennedy is still extremely excited and grateful to take this opportunity, and her passion for Guard only grows.

“The whole thing [for me] is that no matter who you are, no matter what your skill range is, that does not mean you’re better or worse. I started out my sophomore year, and I’m now in a DCI two years later – you can start at a later age and still excel.”