Andrew Payne

Andrew Payne collects interests and hobbies like he collects stuffed giraffes for his bedroom.

For junior Andrew Payne, the most memorable moments from his career thus far in the FHC Marching Band do not involve playing his instrument—percussion—as one might expect, or even music at all.

While he does love those aspects of band, his favorite memories align closer with the games played during “band camp,” an annual, one-week practice and bonding event for the musicians.

“We do a Hunger Games [simulator] every Monday of [band camp], against all the sections,” Andrew said. “This year, the percussion section was able to win it. I just remember everyone being really excited, and no one was shy about how excited they were. Everyone was cheering each other on.”

As a percussionist, Andrew has the responsibility of not only learning the halftime show each year, but also the fifth quarter performance—the drumline show that occurs immediately following the end of each home game.

It is both a fan favorite and one of the highlights of marching band for the participants. However, much work goes into the performance behind the scenes in the months leading up to and during marching season, with effort put in from both students and teachers like drumline technician John DeStefano (Mr. D).

“[Drumline] comes to zero hour every morning to practice for fifth quarter,” Andrew said. “We also have practices outside of school, as well, if we really need it. Usually, Mr. D is there; he’s basically the [greatest of all time] of drumline. Essentially, he makes sure that everyone knows their music and is practicing. He doesn’t even really need to tell us to. Whatever a nicer word for intimidating is, that’s him. He makes sure everyone knows that they have to get their stuff done, or else.”

From band director Joel Burns to DeStefano, the teachers in Andrew’s life have made an outstanding impact on his progress and experience through high school so far. However, they aren’t the only influences he has had.

Andrew’s family has been a consistent source of inspiration and love for him throughout his life; from his parents to pets to—possibly most importantly—dozens of collected stuffed giraffes, all members of his household have had a profound effect on his life. This inspiration is found especially in Andrew’s older sister and brother, who inspired him to begin what is now one of his favorite activities: bowling.

“[My siblings] started [bowling] in high school as well,” Andrew said, “but they barely knew anything about it, so they had to learn it all. Then after they started, they told me all about it, and I thought it sounded interesting.”

For Andrew, bowling has evolved to be much more than just a hobby or a chance to spend time with his friends. It has taught him lessons about life and how to reach his full potential.

“Bowling is about mental focus,” Andrew said. “I think it helps me with other things in life because it helps me focus and learn better. It helps me to think, ‘If I can do this one time, why can’t I do it every time?’ It has taught me a lot about how to focus on my goals in life.”

Focusing on his goals and thinking about his future have been on Andrew’s mind frequently as he begins junior year, when students traditionally begin thinking deeper about what they want their future to look like.

Andrew, for example, is looking forward to his curriculum this year, as he signed up for an array of courses that apply to his future goals while also being things that he genuinely enjoys participating in.

“I only have two really hard classes,” Andrew said, “and the other ones are all things that interest me, like [Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science] and [AP] Seminar. I picked [AP] Seminar because I’m really bad at presenting; I get super nervous. So I decided I should probably get better at that instead of taking an easier course for me.”

From stepping outside his comfort zone with AP Seminar to challenging himself with AP Chemistry, Andrew puts in effort to grow intellectually through his classes. Although it’s relatively early in the process, he has begun thinking about how the classes he takes over the next two years will impact his college and career experience, leading him to hone in on his strengths and what he plans to continue in the future.

“I’ve thought about majoring in computer science, but there aren’t many careers for that,” Andrew said. “I would maybe like to, but I’ll probably just stick to something more general like engineering. Either way, I like math and science much more than other subjects, so I’ve been thinking about that and trying to look into what more specific things to major in in college.”

As he begins thinking about what he wants to participate in during college, his number of hobbies comes to mind as things he must take into consideration. Specifically, continuing marching band past high school.

“I think I’ll probably stop [marching band] after high school,” Andrew said. “In college, it gets really competitive, and you have to put in hours of practice every week. That would just be way too much for me. I do like music a lot, but I’m not dedicated to it enough to devote that much of my time to it.”

Just because Andrew isn’t planning on continuing his percussion career later in life, that doesn’t mean there is any love lost between him and the activity. In fact, being in the drumline has been one of the highlights of Andrew’s band and overall high school experience so far. As junior year kicks off, and Andrew begins the second half of high school, he remembers his favorite parts of marching band and looks forward to more favorite memories in the future.

“[My favorite thing about band] is the people,” Andrew said. “I have tons of friends in that class, which I don’t get from other classes…In the percussion section, especially, there’s not a single person who is left out ever. All of us just click so well with each other, and it makes the whole experience so fun.”