By Melody Young
When students arrive on campus, they hear the metronome of the marching band as they rehearse on the field. While many students are sleeping, the marching band arrives on campus to squeeze in extra practice. Similarly when students leave campus, the can often hear the grunts of the football team as their pads collide with each other.
Many students struggle with managing their academic workload as the tests and projects pile up. Now imagine handling that workload with two time consuming extracurriculars on top of classes.
Sophomore Andrew Guevara is not afraid of a challenge. His passion for both marching band and football see him through the huge amount of practice required for both commitments. He is on the junior varsity (JV) football team and plays the tuba in the marching band.
During home games this past football season, Guevara had to rush between the field and the sidelines to play on both teams. When the referee blew the whistle to signal half-time, Guevara jogged off the field to get his band uniform from his parents.
After, he hurriedly changed into his kilt, grabbed his tuba, and jumped into formation for the band performance. As soon as the song finished, he changed out of his kilt and into his pads and cleats to play during the second half of the game.
Guevara has grown accustomed to this routine since middle school, but the stress of having to juggle both commitments has grown in high school.
“My family helps a lot. They make sure not to add to my stress and help me relieve a lot of it,” Guevara said.
Most students would find it hard to balance school work, band practice, and football games, but Guevara has confidence in his time management skills. Guevara’s parents always emphasize that school comes first, so Guevara makes sure to keep up in all his classes.
“It’s pretty easy to manage the time. Both classes [football and marching band] give enough time to do your work. Sometimes, I feel like I could take harder classes,” Guevara said.
Guevara downplays his own drive to succeed as he obviously has lots of determination in order to be so successful.
Although both commitments occupy all of his time and often cause him to miss out on social activities, Guevara does not regret his decision. Both football and music are things he loves. Football serves as an emotional outlet while music feeds his creativity.
“You can take the easy route, but I try to do both the best that I can,” Guevara said.
The Plaid Press 