CARLTON HAMLIN/Media Bureau
Band members while performing at the Eddie G. Robinson Stadium.
Nyah Posey is freshman from Shereveport, La. Bandstudents have a difficult schedule. Being a member of the World-Famed Band at GSU requires a lot of time management and dedication.
6:20 a.m. Nyah wakes up and gets ready for a long day of classes and practice. She takes a hot shower, brushes her teeth and curls her hair.
After getting fully dressed she completes homework from the night before. Nyah studies for a quiz in history class and then prepares to go out the door get on her wayto her first class.
8:00 a.m. Nyah is sitting in her English class in Jacob T. Stewart. Her bag is packed with all of her books and band clothes for practice. At8:50 a.m. class is over and Nyah has a quick chance to get a bite to eat before her next class. Normally Nyah grabs a snack from the Express and heads to Brown Hall.
10:00 a.m. Now with a full stomach Nyah can focus in her FYE class. Once class is over she has to rush across campus to get to Carver Hall. Her Chemistry class starts at11:00 a.m.
Nyah is a trumpet player, So she is in the very front of the band. Then they wait for Dr. T, the band’s co-leader Dr. Thomas, to come out and direct the band and show ex- actly which formations they will make for the game.
7:00 p.m. The rst partof practice is over. Around seven band members can leave to get something to eat, but they must be back by 8:30 p.m.. Band mem- bers must report back for the second part of practiceuctuates depending on howmuch is left to cover.
12:00 a.m. It’s midnightnow and practice is nallyover. Nyah catches up on some homework and heads to sleep at 1:30 a.m. before waking up for another day as a band student.
“Although being a part of the World-Famed Band is a lot of work, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything,” Nyah said. “I’ve met so many amazing people and best of all I get to do what I love. There is no better feeling than seeing all of our hard work come together when we perform. Yes, We put count- less hours in practice, but the pay off is priceless. I love being a part of the band and I will always rep GSU.” Nyah Posey
Chemistry class is ok for Nyah but sometimes she doses off because she never gets enough sleep. At 12:50 p.m. while leaving her chem- istry class, She uses the extra time to conclude her essay due the next class period. She leaves Carver Hall and rushes over to Jacob T. Stewart Hallto print out her nal essay. The assignment was given to her in English class earlier the same day but, as a bandstudent, she has to finish assignments early.
manage her time and con- tinue to do what she loves. Once Nyah prints and turns in her English assignment she walks over to Adams Hall for African-American History.
1:30 p.m. Although Nyah is tired from rushing across campus all day, while holding books and band clothes in her backpack, she still manag- es to stay attentive in history. History with Dr. Muhammad normally ends right at 2:50 p.m. Sometimes the class will go over the scheduled time so Nyah may have to leave early.
drop her books off back
at her dorm and quickly change into her band practiceclothes. Traf c makes thedrive from Adams Hall to her dorm Sojourner Truth Hall longer than it should be sometimes.
At 3:00 p.m. Nyah drops off her books and puts on her white t-shirt and black pants for practice.
By 3:30 p.m. sharp she must be in the band room in her seat with her trumpet. Band students are taught to always be on time. Even though they need to be thereby 3:30. Nyah routinely gets to band practice there 10-15 minutes early.
According to Nyah, If you are not on time the repercus- sions consist of running the home side of the Eddie G. Robinson Stadium or several rounds of various exercises. During afternoon band practice, band members go over drill music and break down the songs. Early in the week the band usually dis- perses into sectionals to work on certain songs for an hour or so. Once all the groups re- turn, each director takes turns breaking down and going through each distinct song.
After a few more hours of practice in the band room, they go outside to work more on the formations for the half-time performance. Whileoutside on the practice eld,band members start with a10-minute stretch as a group.Then the band marchesinto the rst formation. Once they march into their rst spot on the eld, Also knownas “four fronts”, They begin playing.