Senior Willa Rudnick gets to have the best of both worlds as a jazz studies major at Loyola and a drum major for Tulane University’s marching band.
“I could have a good program that I wanted to get my degree in and also have a really fun opportunity of being in a marching band in New Orleans,” she said. “And now, recently, with a good football team [to play for].”
Rudnick said the band program at Tulane has shaped her college experience in many ways, but most notably, in the travel opportunities.
In her freshman year, Rudnick said the band traveled 8,000 miles to Dubai to perform at the World Expo.
“That was crazy surreal because it was a school/state sponsored trip, so I didn’t have to pay for it at all,” Rudnick said.
Rudnick also recalls performing at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the Navy Stadium in Annapolis, Md., and the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. — places she was able to visit as the band traveled to one away game per season.
“It’s always really cool to get those travel experiences because those are places that I wouldn’t have gotten to go otherwise,” Rudnick said. “Even if we only get to be there for a quick trip, it’s still really cool to get to see another school stadium and experience a football game in another location.”
When the Tulane football team’s season ended in December with a loss against the Florida Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl, Rudnick said she was pretty emotional, not only as a band member but as a football fan.
“Our last football game was really bittersweet for me,” Rudnick said. “I felt like ‘This is not how I wanted my last game to be,’ but I still, overall, had a really, really great experience, and I’ve met so many wonderful people, had so many fun trips, and been at some of the best Tulane football games.”
Rudnick also has a deeper appreciation of college football for its atmosphere – one that she gets to be an integral part of creating.
“A lot of people will say that the difference between the college football atmosphere and the NFL [game atmosphere] is the band because the band helps create so much of the atmosphere and influences the game day experience so much,” Rudnick said. “And I’m really proud to have been a key part of that, especially for a school that is becoming better in our conference and in general.”
Although football season has ended, Rudnick found comfort in knowing that her role in the band isn’t quite over yet as the band prepares for its spring concert season, Mardi Gras parades, and an upcoming performance at Super Bowl LIX, which is being held in the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, Feb. 9.
“We’re still pretty busy,” Rudnick said. “We’re still learning dances and learning songs, and it’s still super fun in the spring, especially with Mardi Gras.”
As Rudnick continues to help lead the band through these performances and events, she is also preparing for her own special occasion in the spring – her graduation.
Although Rudnick will retire her green and blue uniform, she said the community she’s built within the band will continue to stay with her, along with many of the skills she’s garnered over the years.
