Artifact 2: A Meaningful Job Experience

This fall, I had an incredible opportunity to work with the Westerville South marching band. I was a color guard technician, and I had opportunities to work with all sections of the color guard.

I was asked to work for their color guard in the summer of 2018. Cody, the director of the color guard, had previously marched in Miamisburg’s color guard when he was in high school. Since Miamisburg is my alumni as well, he knew me and asked if I was interested in working as a tech for a color guard near Ohio State. I immediately said yes, and I was looking forward to an experience teacher, as well as an experience to improve on my own color guard skill set.

While I only was able to attend rehearsals once a week on Thursdays due to my hectic school schedule, it was amazing to constantly see the growth of the members. Not only did I get to help each member with their skills and making sure the work was spinning together, but I also had a chance to write my own choreography. When Cody asked me to write work, I was initially very timid. But once I wrote it and had the chance to see the choreography, I was so excited.

This winter, I am excited to work with Westerville’s varsity winter guard. I can’t wait to watch the growth of these amazing performers once again. Overall, this was a great experience for my future as an educator, and it makes me even more excited for the future.

 

Artifact 1- Meaningful Experience

While there have been various meaningful events and experiences in my lifetime, my summer experience with the Boston Crusaders drum corps color guard sticks out the most to me. Although most people think drum corps is simply marching band, it is actually much more grueling than your average high school marching band. The best way I can explain drum corps is simple: professional marching band that takes place over the summer and travels throughout the United States. First, I flew to Castleton, Vermont where I stayed for about a month to learn the show I would be performing all summer. This meant 14 hour days and once the practice day was done, practicing even more on my own during free time. After spring training, tour began. While on tour I had the amazing chance to travel the country where I performed at and competed against other world class drum corps at over 30 competitions. While performing and traveling so much was fun, it also meant staying in a different school gym almost every night, and sleeping and living mostly on a bus.

While my experience with the Boston Crusaders drum corps was mentally and physically grueling, it was such an important growing and learning experience for me. I made so many new friends, and got so much better at the activity I love so much. I developed so much as both a person, and a performer in the color guard community. This experience was also so important to me because we won best color guard and got 5th place overall as a corps. I am truly able to say I performed with the best color guard in the world. Below is a picture of me holding the plaque for the George Zinglai Best Color Guard award at Drum Corps International finals retreat.

There are many things which I will remember about my experience with the Boston Crusaders, but what I would like to remember most in the future is the feeling of winning best color guard with my best friends. As we were announced best color guard on finals night, everything I had achieved that summer and all of my adversities which I had overcome came to mind. All of the blood, sweat, and tears became worth it. I cried and hugged my best friends, because we had won this together, despite all of the hard times. I would like to remember that feeling in moments of struggle, and when I feel like giving up. In the end, it will always be worth it.

I believe this experience makes me different from my peers in many ways. First of all, most of my peers have not lived out of a suitcase, a bus, and in many high school gyms for a prolonged period of time. Living in those conditions made me much more thankful for the living conditions of my home and a dorm. I also learned how to manage my belongings better and keep everything as organized as possible, which may take other teenagers my age some time to figure out. Another way this experience makes me different from my peers is the time commitment and distance away from home, friends, and family. While with college it is usual to move away from home into a dorm away from old friends and family, it is usually manageable to travel home. However, in drum corps, a travel home is not possible unless in emergency situations. I did not see my parents for a month, and it was my first time living without them. While it was scary at first, I learned how to be much more independent and how to do most things on my own. Because of my experiences, I believe drum corps is a great thing to discuss with future employers. It shows how resilient I am when times are tough and 14 hour practice days are grueling on the body. It also shows how independent I became over such a short period of time. Below is a picture of my mom and I after I performed in Mason, Ohio, which was the first time I had seen her in a month.

Some personality traits I demonstrated throughout my experience were resiliency, independence, positivity, and mental and physical strength. Below is a picture of my friend and I in San Antonio, Texas, during our first free day in a month.

Overall, my experience greatly pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I flew to a state I had never been in, to live in a dorm with people I barely knew. I learned so much about myself, about the ways I learn, when too much is too much, the types of people I need in my life, and so much more. I would recommend drum corps to everyone. The experience changed my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Personal Development

One way I have developed throughout the semester is through my work ethic. In high school, everything was so much easier. I felt like I understood everything well in my classes, and I received pretty much all A’s without studying much. As I made the transition to college, I knew I’d have to work harder, but I don’t think I was mentally prepared for how college would be, and how many things I have to juggle. It took some adjusting, and I have finally figured a better way to make my weeks throughout college more successful.

One of my biggest issues regarding work ethic was study locations. At the beginning of the semester, I would always try to study in my room while also hanging out with my friends. This led to distractions and not getting my work done well, or in a timely manner. About two days a week, during a large break in my classes, I head over to Thompson library and get some work done. This method of studying has been very beneficial to me, and I get my work done much earlier in the week.

While I have definitely grown in terms of my work ethic, I still have much more room to grow. One of my goals for next semester is to have a few set times each week where I will go to the library and study. I think that if I plan my library trips more, I can be even more successful and procrastinate much less.

Overall, I have enjoyed my first semester at The Ohio State University, and I plan to continue to grow and better myself as a student.

 

G.O.A.L.S.

[ “G.O.A.L.S.” is a place where students write about how their planned, current, and future activities may fit into the Honors & Scholars G.O.A.L.S.: Global Awareness, Original Inquiry, Academic Enrichment, Leadership Development, and Service Engagement. For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.

  • Global Awareness: Students cultivate and develop their appreciation for diversity and each individual’s unique differences. For example, consider course work, study abroad, involvement in cultural organizations or activities, etc.
  • Original Inquiry: Honors & Scholars students understand the research process by engaging in experiences ranging from in-class scholarly endeavors to creative inquiry projects to independent experiences with top researchers across campus and in the global community. For example, consider research, creative productions or performances, advanced course work, etc.
  • Academic Enrichment: Honors & Scholars students pursue academic excellence through rigorous curricular experiences beyond the university norm both in and out of the classroom.
  • Leadership Development: Honors & Scholars students develop leadership skills that can be demonstrated in the classroom, in the community, in their co-curricular activities, and in their future roles in society.
  • Service Engagement: Honors & Scholars students commit to service to the community.]

Career

[“Career” is where you can collect information about your experiences and skills that will apply to your future career.  Like your resume, this is information that will evolve over time and should be continually updated.  For more guidance on using your ePortfolio, including questions and prompts that will help you get started, please visit the Honors & Scholars ePortfolio course in Carmen. To get answers to specific questions, please email eportfolio@osu.edu. Delete these instructions and add your own post.]

About Me

My name is Abby Montgomery and I am a freshman STEM education major at The Ohio State University. I am originally from Miamisburg, Ohio.

A very big part of my life is color guard. I first joined color guard in Miamisburg when I was in 3rd grade, and have stuck with it ever since. After I ended my high school color guard career, I auditioned and made it into the infamous Boston Crusaders color guard. I toured with the Boston Crusaders for the entire summer, and got the amazing chance to perform in Lucas Oil Stadium at DCI finals, where we placed 5th overall and 1st in color guard.

I am also a STEM EE Scholar. I am interested in STEM because of the amazing STEM teachers I had throughout high school. I have been best at science and math classes throughout my educational career, so I was drawn to it. This is why I applied for the STEM EE Scholars program.

In addition to being a STEM EE scholar, I have chosen STEM education as my major. First of all, I have always had a love for STEM classes throughout school. The reason I chose to be an education major is because I have a multitude of teachers who have had made huge impacts on my life. I hope that one day I can be an influential teacher for many students and make an impact on future students.

I am excited for my educational journey at The Ohio State University and I can’t wait to look back at all of the memories and friends I make.