Senior Amberly Schell has been on color guard since her freshman year. While initially reluctant to join, she now finds joy in getting to perform for others and be a part of a team.

The Rider Chronicle sat down with Schell to discuss her goals, memories, and the lessons she’s learned.

Q: How did you get started in guard?

A: So my older sister Reili was in band and she was friends with Lilly Studer, who was the color guard captain. Lilly asked Reili to ask me to go to their tryouts week where they had this whole color guard intensive to learn the basic skills, and I actually didn’t really want to go. I didn’t think I’d like it because I hate dancing and color guard is a lot of dancing, but she convinced me to go try it out and after the whole thing there I was like “this is fun, I like tossing six-foot flag poles into the air.” Then I tried out and I made it in.

Q: Do you have any goals for guard this year?

A: For our finals we choreograph our own shows, and one of my goals is to first of all perform better than I did last year and also to write a good show. Also a side goal is probably to be able to toss a seven on rifle by the end of the year.

Q: What’s your favorite guard memory?

A: Back in my freshman year I was on the varsity team for winter guard and we had a New Year’s Eve rehearsal and we just had a lot of fun. It was just eight of us there including me and we stayed up really late. We all got delirious because we were super tired.

Q: In what ways have you changed since your freshman year? 

A: I’ve grown a lot more with performing in front of people, and in general. Also I’ve learned how to dance now. I’ve also learned some leadership skills from guard too and becoming color guard captain.

Q: What is something you are going to miss after you graduate?

A: I’ll miss being in guard in general. I’m thinking about joining guard in college if I can because I just like the feeling of tossing six-foot poles into the air. It makes me feel accomplished with myself when I can do things that maybe look hard or are hard. It’s just so fun to me.

Q: What have you learned through being in guard?

A: I’ve learned some leadership skills and I’ve also learned how to be patient with other people. I’ve also learned how to be more open with the people around me. I used to be really quiet, still am, but it’s helped me grow socially.