Laurel Monocada

Name: Laurel Moncada

Grade: 10th

Future College: Texas A&M University

Future Job: Psychology

Years in Color guard: 2

Inspiration: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Wingspan: What made you choose to join color guard?

Moncada: “I had never heard of Guard before and my friend invited me to auditions last minute because she knew that I wanted to join something other than sports and I was into dancing. After auditions, I had learned many new skills and was very surprised at how much fun Guard was which is what has kept me interested for so long.”

Wingspan:What is you favorite thing to do in colorguard

Moncada: “I like tossing on rifle and sabre the most because I have become more advanced this year and I can toss higher and get more rotations out.”

Wingspan:How does color guard impact your daily life?

Moncada: “Guard motivates me everyday to get better. It makes me want to go outside and practice more since we move quickly and learn lots of new skills daily.”

Wingspan:Are you considering continuing color guard beyond high school? Why?

Moncada: “I believe that by senior year I can be experienced enough to do color guard in college. I would definitely consider doing Guard beyond highschool depending on the university I go to.”

Wingspan:What are your personal goals for this year?

Moncada: “Academically, I am preparing for junior year and I want to be able to successfully handle school with my job as well as being in a leadership position in color guard. My goals this year are focused on my ability to manage multiple commitments while taking on more responsibility.”

Wingspan:What is your favorite thing about color guard

Moncada: “I enjoy the social aspect of color guard. The entire guard is really close and the environment is very laid back and friendly which makes our practices and performances more fun. We all have fun with our coaches and my favorite part of color guard is when we all see significant improvements individually which makes us better as a whole.”

Wingspan:How do you balance color guard, school, and any other extracurriculars?

Moncada: “In order to balance Guard with my academics and commitments outside of school I rely on good communication. I ensure that I constantly communicate with others in order to plan and make sure my extracurriculars don’t overlap.”

Wingspan:What’s your favorite memory of the color guard?

Moncada: “During a double competition, we all got up really early in order to leave for an hour long bus ride. Our coach brought us bagels and we slept on the way to the competition and then after performing, we drove to a nearby highschool. All of the band and Guard members slept in the band hall for a few hours while we waited for our results.”

Wingspan:What is your advice to anybody thinking about joining the color guard?

Moncada: “My biggest piece of advice is not to be timid. Guard is so much fun and can seem intimidating in the beginning especially since there is a variety of skills and equipment we use. Once you get a chance to experience it yourself, you see far past what you thought you were capable of.”

Wingspan:Do you like performing with the band during shows? Why?

Moncada: “Performing with the band is really fun because I have friends on the field with me who aren’t in Guard and we get to travel together during competition season and have fun at the football games. It can be overwhelming but we get plenty of time during camps in the summer and practices after school to prepare for marching season.”