Color guard is a challenging activity involving coordination, endurance and grace, three things that sophomore Samantha Pearman has in spades. She has only been involved in color guard for one year but has risen to the challenge and will take over as the group’s captain for the coming marching season.
“I am extremely excited, but I’m a little nervous about living up to the role of being a leader for the people who are coming into high school or even just joining color guard who haven’t done it before,” Pearman said. “That’s probably what I think is going to be the hardest part about being captain, especially since I’ve only been doing this for a year.”
“Sam has surpassed all of my expectations for her in terms of ability,” band director Curtis Thomas said. “She emerged about mid-season as the leader of the group in both ability, talent, and leadership. She will definitely guide the guard team to new heights next year. I am excited for her.”
One of the current co-captains has high hopes for Samantha as the next captain.
“I was really thrilled to have her in guard because she can keep the legacy going after we leave and she learned the moves quickly,” senior color guard co-captain Sabrina Uptgraft said.
Pearman’s friend, sophomore Hannah Harrell, also thinks she will make a good captain.
“I definitely think she would make a great leader,” Harrell said. “I feel like she is very coordinated which makes for a good color guard member but she is also a natural leader so it is easy for her to lead and learn.”
Pearman joined the team for the first time during band camp in August to perform during the 2020 marching and contest season. She learned the routine quickly and showed great potential as a member of color guard.

“Samantha was a novice at the beginning of camp, but you wouldn’t have known that when we wrapped up camp,” Thomas said. “ As the season went along, Sam quickly closed the gap in ability compared to the other two members, in their fourth [and second] year. She is indeed an asset to the program, as she was able to play a mallet solo for us during the first show in which the band was down eleven members.”
Samantha has learned to perform several different tosses, flourishes and spins during her training for color guard, but her favorite aspect has been the friends she has made along the way.
“As a whole, [my favorite things is] probably the friends that I’ve made in color guard. I’ve met people in color guard from other schools, it’s amazing,” Pearman said. Pearman added that she also loves “all the choreography that goes into it and all the concentration you have to use to make sure you get the timing right for the throws and everything else.”
The other current members of the color guard are senior co-captains Aerial Quigley and Sabrina Uptgraft. Since they will be graduating and unable to join the team next year, Pearman will be starting fresh with new members. She has attempted to convince several of her friends to join the team in order to have familiar faces around.
“[Samantha] has been very adamant about wanting me to join,” Harrell said. “She supports my decision to not join, however, she does try to provide reasons as to why I should or why I would be good at it. She is very persistent, but in a good way.”
Harrell and Pearman have been friends since elementary school and she is just one of the people Pearman has attempted to convince.
“I’m kind of trying to spread the word among my little friend group and I’m planning on spreading the word through more of the high school soon,” Samantha said
A program was also started in the middle school to build up interest for future high school students to grow the color guard. There are currently 40 members in the middle school program.
“While [Samantha’s] been working with the middle schoolers she’s been learning to take charge and she’s willing to help anyone that needs help,” Uptgraft said. “She’ll make a really good captain next year.”