Marching Band: Captain Leann Perry

Leann Perry is the captain of our color guard here at Audubon High School. She is a senior and this will be her fifth year in the band and second year as a captain. In contrast to the rest of the marching band, the members of the color guard do stunts and toss flashy props whilst the band plays on around them. She joined the color guard with the encouragement of a friend. When we asked her about the beginning of her color guard career, she said: “When I was in eighth grade a friend of mine asked me to come to the orientation of the school’s color guard. Having no idea what a color guard was, or that it was part of the marching band, I went to the first meeting.” That interest meeting was all it took for Leann to be hooked and has stayed ever since.

Onlookers will likely notice that color guard is an extremely complex process, so it’s only natural that there will be challenges. Leann herself said that: “Color guard is definitely the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. The hours were long, and the physical and mental toll would leave me exhausted.”  Overcoming the initial toughness of being a member of the color guard was no easy task, and yet Leann soon found a way to help. She told us that: “… in my later years the thing that kept me going was the younger girls in my guard. If they hadn’t been so excited and enthusiastic and talented as they were, it would have been much harder for me.” Using the support that flowed in from the rest of the troupe, Leann rose to the top.

After graduating at the end of this year, Leann plans to attend a four-year college in order to become a teacher. She told us that her inspiration to jump into the world of education was those same team members who inspire her as a member of the colorguard: “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher but being a captain to my guard and being someone the girls looked up to, and being able to help them solidified that I was making the right decision and this is something I want to pursue for my life.” With that, Leann graduates at the end of this school year. Hopefully she is able to accomplish her dream of being a teacher and continue to teach people the ropes; even if those ropes aren’t how to toss a flag in the air.