Pharmacy students Logan Acker, Lexi Baldinger, pre-pharmacy student Kinsey Carraway, and faculty member Betsy Blake had an eventful Thanksgiving celebration as they traveled to New York City for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Acker and Baldinger are members of the Carolina Coquettes. Carraway plays mellophone in the Carolina Band, while Blake's daughter plays saxophone in the band.
After a long bus ride to the Big Apple from Columbia, the band spent the week sightseeing and preparing for their big performance at Herald Square. Leading up to Thursday's parade, they appeared on NBC's Today Show, where Columbia native and Today show host Craig Melvin introduced the band.
"We arrived at the Today show about 4:30 a.m. and got to practice a few times before going live on the show," says Acker. "Craig Melvin dressed up in our band uniform and marched in with our drumline, which was so great! We performed four segments over the hour on national television."
For Thursday's parade, it was an early start to a cold and rainy day, but that did not dampen anyone's spirits.
"We met the band at about 1:45 a.m. and headed over to rehearse the Herald Square performance in front of Macy's. Our rehearsal was at 3:20 a.m., and we only got to run our routine three times before the next group came in," Acker says. "The setup in the early morning was incredible with all the Christmas lights twinkling. After a quick rehearsal we had breakfast with the band at Margaritaville and had some time on the buses to touch up hair and makeup and take a quick nap."
The band stepped off around 8 a.m. and paraded the 2.5 miles to Herald Square, doing their best to stay warm. Once they arrived at Herald Square, they shed their raincoats and warmups.
"The adrenaline was high during the performance, so I didn't even feel the cold or the rain until after. We were pretty frozen after the parade was over," she recalls.
The commitment these students make to their studies and band is phenomenal. I have such great respect for them to be able to accomplish all of this!
Blake joined other band parents on the parade route to take it all in. Her daughter, Chesley, is a biochemistry major who earned a Magellan grant and is conducting research in Dr. Doug Pittman's lab.
"They were such troopers marching the 2.5-mile parade route in the cold, steady rain. They were so resilient and proud as they continued to smile throughout the route," says Blake. "The commitment these students make to their studies and band is phenomenal. I have such great respect for them to be able to accomplish all of this! But what strength and resilience it gives them to prepare for the working world!"
The band followed up the parade with a trip to Radio City Music Hall to see the Rockettes perform before loading back up on the buses on Friday morning to head to Greenville, South Carolina, to prepare for the USC football game with in-state rival Clemson.
"Both times Lexi and I have been to Clemson, the Gamecocks have won, so we were so excited to see it happen twice. I think we both had a few tears during those final plays," Acker says. "Coach Beamer is such an amazing supporter of the band, and we appreciate him so much. He was also one of the reasons we reached our fundraising goal to get to New York City along with Coach Dawn Staley and Darius Rucker. We are so appreciative of everyone who supported us for this once-in-a-lifetime memory!
Topics: Experience, Pharm.D. Program, Pre-Pharmacy