Day-by-day
What did the Pride do in NYC? Stories inside
A gallery of photos taken by members. Pages 10-11
A Macy’s veteran, band brothers, more. Stories inside
Eight seniors share their Pride memories.
When the Pride of the Dako tas learned in April 2021 that they would be performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in the band’s history, we –Jordan Rusche and Gracie Terrall –covered the announcement for The Collegian.
Over a year and a half later, we were able to travel to New York City with the Pride to cover their perfor mance and the four days leading up to it, sharing the band’s experi ences with everyone at home.
This special issue of The Col legian includes coverage of the day-by-day activities of the Pride as they explored the city, several
feature articles on specific students and alumni of the band and photo spreads from both our reporting and submitted by students.
We would like to express our gratitude to the Pride, South Da kota State University and every one who made it possible for us to go on this trip with the band and share it with those who were not lucky enough to join in person, lo cally and statewide.
We hope this issue will serve to connect everyone close to the Pride and memorialize this historic occa sion.
Thank you, Jordan and Gracie
When the Pride of the Dakotas found out that they would be marching in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, there was one band member who knew the excitement better than anybody.
That’s because William Kessler, a junior trombone player, had already performed in the Macy’s parade three times, making this year his fourth trip to New York City for the event.
Kessler, who is from Pierre, South Dakota, originally attended the parade his sophomore through senior year of high school when he was part of the Macy’s Great American Marching Band (MGAMB). The band is composed of high school students repre senting every state.
“We had just finished up our marching season, and my band director approached me and a couple other of my classmates and asked if we’d be interested in the opportunity to march some more,” Kessler said.
He enjoyed his first visit so much that he returned to per form in the MGAMB two more times before graduating from T.F. Riggs High School. He also said he wanted to continue the friendships he made with the other performers in the band his first year.
After coming to South Dakota State University, Kessler joined the Pride so he could continue his music experience.
“I knew a college-level marching band would be a big step up from my high school expe rience, and even though it was a COVID year, it did not disappoint,” he said. “I really enjoyed it the last couple years.”
Though going to the Macy’s parade wasn’t quite as special for him as it was for the other Pride members, Kessler said he was excited to experience New York with his bandmates.
“Even though I have already been there three times, I’m very excited to be in a band with a bunch of people that I know and a lot of really good friends,” he said.
This year’s performance will also be much less stressful, as the Pride has had over a year to prepare for the parade Thursday.
“We [MGAMB performers] all came in knowing no drill, and then on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to the parade, we put together a show, added the music and … had a ful ly-developed 90-second show in the span of three days,” Kessler said.
Kevin Kessler, no relation, director of athletic bands for SDSU, said Will adds a lot to the Pride of the Dakotas.
“Will is a really enthusiastic member,” he said. “He’s a very good player. … I’m sure he’s been kind of a guide to a lot of folks because he’s been in the city so many times now.”
Another trombone player, senior pharmacy major Jessica Begeman, said he also serves as a leader for their section when needed.
“Obviously, he’s been here for the past three years, so he knows how our marching band works, and I think when our section leaders are feeling a little overwhelmed, he is there to help and direct people,” she said. “If he weren’t graduating early, I think he would definitely be a section leader.”
Kessler will graduate this May with a degree in political science and a minor in legal studies. He will be going to law school next fall.
“USD is my main contender, but I would like to look at other colleges as well,” he said.
As for this trip to New York City, he said he was most excited to see the attractions he didn’t get to visit the last few times he was in the city.
“With the Macy’s Great American Marching Band, there’s basically a bunch of strangers together for the first time, taking over New York, so we had very strict rules,” he said. “But with this trip, I’m really hoping to do things with my friends that I wasn’t able to do the previous trip.”
Collegian photo by GRACIE TERRALL Will Kessler’s performance with the Pride in New York City marks his fourth time marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The Pride of the Dakotas, family and friends landed in New York City Wednesday afternoon after an early morning start to their fi ve-day trip to the Big Apple to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
After loading the buses at 4:30 a.m. and heading to Sioux Falls Regional Airport, the band took two charter planes from Sioux Falls to the NewarkLiberty International Airport. There were a few bumps along the road for some band members, but everyone arrived safely.
“There were more delays than I thought,” said Joey Daly, a sousaphone player in his third year at South Dakota State University. “There’s a little bit of trouble going through the airports and getting everything lined up … You kind of expect something to go wrong when you’re spending a day traveling.”
The fans, family and alumni groups also flew out of Sioux Falls, with separate layovers in Chicago, Denver and Dallas, before landing at New YorkLaGuardia International Airport.
Lindsey Nordsiden was one of the alumni going to New York with the band. She graduated in 2004 and was in the Pride while she attended SDSU, performing at the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, California, in 2001.
“It was so much fun, but I didn’t get to do any of the fun stuff. They didn’t have a lot of activities planned,” Nordsiden said. “So when this opportunity came along, I love New York City, I’ve been there before, and it was like, ‘oh, this would be so much fun to go back to that,’ and actually get to go on a trip with the Pride.”
Nordsiden’s sister, Lacey Collins, also attended the trip, though she did not attend SDSU. She said the opportunity to travel with the band was too good to pass up.
“The itinerary of what all we get to do for this price is amazing,” she said.
“It’s just the best deal.”
Chris and Diane Holmberg decided to accompany the Pride to support their daughter, sophomore mellophone player Sophie Holmberg. Diane, from Luverne, Minnesota, said she missed out on her daughter marching at Disneyland in high school, so going to New York for Macy’s was a must for the family.
“The parade seems like such a oncein-a-lifetime thing,” Chris said. “It was never on my bucket list, but now that we are here, it does seem kind of cool. If you had asked me two years ago, I’d say that doesn’t sound like something I’d want to do. Now I really really want to.”
After a little downtime to walk around and check out the Times Square area, the band ate, played arcade games and bowled at Bowlero.
Family and alumni also had a chance to rest from the day’s travels before enjoying dinner at John’s Pizzeria.
Monday, both groups had most of the day to explore on their own before going to the Top of the Rock, the observation deck at the very top of the Rockefeller Center.
The Pride also got to visit Little Italy and Chinatown for dinner and shopping.
Rebecca Ady, a junior alto saxophone player, said she was excited to get to spend the day with her family.
“I get to do some of this free time with my parents, and I’m really, really looking forward to that,” she said. “We’re just going to hang out and do some shopping.”
Daly said he planned to check out a few museums in the city during his free time.
“I was going to go to the Museum of Modern Art, that’s my big one,” he said.
(Left) More than 360 Pride members spent their evening eating pizza and burgers while bowling at Times Square’s Bowlero.
Rebecca Ady
Kamal Albousafi
Barrett Althoff
Sarah Aman
Jackson Ashlock
Emma Backes
Rose Baerenwald
Thailee Baker
Elijah Baldwin
Drew Bamba
Austin Barber
Sarah Kate Barker
Zach Barrett
Hannah Bates
Brennan Beach
Jessica Begeman
Jackson Bellis
Hayden Bentz
Adam Bishman
Reagan Black
Rebekah Bonnemann
Lizzi Boomsma
Haley Borman
Ainsley Boucher
Amber Boulton
Cora Brant
Katherine Brenholt
Sydney Brinkman
Kailee Brinkmann
Madison Brockberg Madeline Brooks
Zachary Buchholz
Katrina Burckhard Noah Buteyn Alex Butts
Dylan Byers
Devon Byers
Ian Byington
Danicah Capitonoff
Sara Carr
Joseph Cassady
Sydeny Charlton
Paul Christensen
Adam Clancy Nicholas Coad
Eli Cole
Abigail Connor
Ashley Conradt
Bryton Converse Hannah Cooper Rachel Coudron Molly Crawford Matthew Croke
Tucker Crownover Clara Cunningham Carter Dahl Haley Dahl Joseph Daly Andrew Deaver
Amanda DeBates Morgan DeBulten Taylor DeJong
David Delahoyde Alexander Delperdang Jack Derickson
Damien DeVries
Abby Dingman Ethan Dingman Annamarie Dobbs
Jesse Dodd Karsyn Driscoll Camden Edmonson
Andrew Ellis
Elizabeth Elsen
Anders Enga
Ally Ercink Nicholas Erickson
Kevin Escamilla
D’Angelo Escamilla Haley Evenson
McCormick Evink
Jakob Fairbotham
Hannah Ferens
Nathan Fick
Regan Fickel
Eli Fischer
Jason Fisher
Nicholas Forster
Abigail Fraas Julia Fray
Aidan Frederick DeAndre French Veronica Fritz Jacob Fry John Gabell Rudy Gallegos
Michael Garofalo Wyatt Garten Levi Gebhard
Alyssa Geist
Trinity George Josie Geraets
Emily Gerber Courtnie Gergen Maddi Gerlach Wyatt Giese Zander Gilland Megan Gillen Aaron Goodhart Luke Gordon Luke Gorski Taitlyn Gowlovech
Carly Grange Emmala Gunnare Thomas Hagen Matthew Halberg Meghan Hampton Zachary Handberg Hannah Hank Dylan Hankel
Lauren Harstad Chloe Hass Emilie Hass Brett Hatch Madison Haugen Katherine Hawton Emily Hedge
Sarah Heggestad Morgan Heinen
Cadence Helleson Bailey Henschen
Tyson Hirschbrunner
Erik Hlavnicka
Isaac Hlavnicka Haley Hobbie Eden Hodgins
McKenzie Hofer
Emily Hofer Landon Hohn Sophie Holmberg Katelyn Holt Josh Howard Hannah Hulstein
Trey Huneke
Connor Ilchuk Halle Imker Ethan Jaacks Annika Jahn Sadie Jenness
Amanda Jensen Emma Jensen Sydney Jessen Ryan Johnson Karline Johnson Bailey Juhl MacKinzey Jurey Arystan Jurgens
Emma Kampmann Kari Kanable William Karels
Jamee Kattner Isaac Kellogg Will Kessler Jason Ketel
Thea Klarenbeek Alyssa Klassen Bridget Koch Kacie Kracht Mason Krause Brandon Kreber Lillian Krogman-Gibson Lily Krogstad
Natalie Kubik
Maria Kuchta
Emma Kuitunen
Sydnee Kurvink
Ethan Lambert
Nick Lange Gunner Larson Xavier Larson Zander Larson McKenzie Larson
Alyssa Launsbach
Kylie LaVoy Benjamin Leek Collin Leiffert
Jennifer Lein Hannah LeMair Mason LeMaster Madison Levine Micah Lillie Mercedes Lodmell Caleigh Loger Eric Lohr Elaine Ludvik
Samuel Lundberg Sydney Lynch Mason Machtemes
Sophia Madsen Reece Mahatoo Connor Matthies
Mary Matya Morgan McDannel Makenna McDonnell Grant McMillan Marissa Meiners
Natalie Meyer Lily Mikkonen Evan Miller Owen Minet
Nick Moeller Valeska Momotic Adam Monson Cory Muilenburg Marcus Nace
Mason Nagel Madison Neal Wesley Nelson Eric Nelson
Peter Nester Grace Nielsen Teo Nilson
Ethan Nylin Brenda Olander Anna Olson Kelsie Olson
Shelby Olson Stephen Osterberg Jared Pannell Laura Panuska Finn Paso Little Sophie Pavelka Caleb Pawlovich James Payne Regan Peters Dylan Peterson Zander Peterson Katherine Pfeifle Isaac Pham Camryn Phinney Jillian Pierson Katelyn Plucker Meghan Poindexter Katelyn Poull Anastasia Poull Madison Preston Colton Prince Tarah Prisinger Michael Proehl Elise Propst Lily Purcell Breanna Rademacher Alex Raether
Autumn Rathjens Melody Reisdorff Alyssa Renken Caroline Reyner
Thomas Reynolds
Amy Rietveld
Elisabeth Riisnaes
Caden Ringling Macy Rippentrop Noah Roerig
Drake Rogers Zachary Rohde Brooklyn Routt
Joslyn Russell Andrew Salgado
Garrett Satterly Serena Schaefer Sam Schauer
Alex Schemek Hannah Schroeder Grace Schroeder
Jordana Schutte Matthew Schwarz
Alex Servold Travis Sharp
Jessemy Sharp Wesley Siira Ashton Simon Lindsey Sisco Kaden Sivertsen Jessica Skare Dylan Smedsrud Nora Smestad
Cassidie Smilloff
Jacob Smilloff
Tanner Smith Kristofer Smith
Landon Smith Isaac Sousa Blake Spah Ethan Srstka Megan Stadtlander
Caleb Stanley Dakota Staskywicz
Julia Steffensen
Lauren Steffl Cherish Stern Megan Stevens
Aidan Stewart Sarah Stoddard
Alexis Stolicker Adam Stone Taylor Stout Moqui Stucky Austin Teas Makayla Thie Gabriel Thier Ava Thvedt
Jocelyn Tillman Alex Tjaden Bobby Traeder
Josh Valenzuela Tess VanMaanen Carter Vogel Miranda Wangler Ashton Weston Charlie Whalen Abby Wiemerslage Pearl Wigg Justine Wiik Grace Wilford Bradley Willey Hunter Williamette Braeden Willson
Margaret Wilson Brayden Wilson Katelyn Winberg
Evelyn Wipf Clara Wise
Jacquie Wold Alaina Wolter
Faye Wooden Makira Wrage Tjaden Wright R.E.L Xayarath Shimin Yunker
Drum Majors: Portia Bird Matthew Dulas Brennan Mason Bri Renneker
Story by GRACIE TERRALL | Co-Editor-in-Chief | (She/Her)
Collegian photos by GRACIE TERRALL (She/Her)
(From left) Senior Pride members David Delahoyde, trumpet, Cadence Helleson, piccolo, Jessica Begeman, trombone, Matthew Dulas, drum major and Benjamin Leek,drumline, skate together at Rockefeller Plaza.
After a hearty breakfast at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Pride members had the morning to themselves to explore the city.
Museums were popular destinations for many members.
Makira Wage, Autumn Rathjens, Sophie Holmberg and her family spent the morning at the Museum of Natural History. As a history major, Holmberg has a list of museums she wants to visit in her lifetime and was finally able to check this one off her bucket list. As for Rathjens, dinosaurs were her main motivation for going to the museum.
“I really like drawing in my free time, and I always like being able to take my own photo references,” Rathjens said. “It gives me inspiration on what I’m going to draw.”
Aaron Ragsdale, assistant director of the Pride, also went to the Museum of Natural History with his wife, Ashley, son Harrison (9) and daughter Olivia (14).
“My nine-year-old really likes sharks … and they have a shark exhibit going,” he said.
Miranda Wangler, Jack Derickson, Julia Steffensen and Will Kessler hit up the Museum of Modern Art in the afternoon. Ben Connor, a South Dakota State University junior who is not in the band, went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his family. Connor’s sister, Abby, is a sophomore on the color guard.
“I have always wanted to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art because of the iconic part it plays in pop culture and history,” Connor said. “I spent three hours in the museum and barely made it through a quarter of it. We saw great works of Egyptian history, American sculptures, European arts and medieval armor.”
Kevin Kessler, director of athletic bands for the Pride, said he and his family also went to The Met during their morning outing.
Other popular locations were Central Park, the New York Library, the Winter Village Farmer’s Market, ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza and the “Friends” apart ment in Greenwich Village.
“I think we had a pretty solid plan of just going wherever the wind took us,” Andrew Deaver, a senior trombone player, said. “We started at Central Park, got some coffee and walked through there. One of our pro fessors recommended the Winter Village so we went through there and tried a bunch of different types of food. We tried genuine New York bagels.”
Unfortunately, navigating the big city wasn’t easy for some. Mercedes Lodmell, a senior alto saxophone player, said she and her friend got lost at least four times trying to get to Central Park from the hotel. They took advantage of the detour and explored the shops on 5th Avenue.
“They have like insanely huge everything,” Lodmell said. “There was a four-story H&M, the Nike store has like five stories. Then we went to a really good deli. We got some pastries, and then we both got different sand wiches and swapped half of them so we could both try it, so that was fun.”
At 3 p.m., all band members met at Rockefeller
Center to visit the Top of the Rock. Everyone spent a few hours viewing the city from the 70th floor, perused the gift shops, then hopped on the subway for dinner at La Nonna in Little Italy.
Kessler said everything was running smoothly since students landed in New York Sunday.
“In regard to getting everyone checked in to the hotel and departing from the Sioux Falls airport, every thing went very, very well,” he said.
Many were excited for the sights they were going
to see the next day on their trip, which included Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Rockettes.
“We’re excited to see the Statue of Liberty,” Ragsdale said. “I think taking in the 9/11 Memorial is always impactful and important for us to do. I don’t know if excited is the right word for that, but I’m looking for ward to it.”
Members of the Pride drumline point to the TM Tower, which has appeared in Marvel movies as the Stark Tower, from the top of Rockefeller Center.
Story by Jordan Rusche • Co-Editor-in-Chief Gracie Terrall • Co-Editor-in-Chief
Collegian photos by GRACIE TERRALL and JORDAN RUSCHE (She/Her)
Members of the Pride were at the courtyard of Battery Park in New York. Other stops the band took Tuesday included Ellis Island, the 9/11 memorial and Radio City Music Hall.
Tuesday’s events started with break fast at the world’s largest Applebee’s before heading over to Ellis Island and seeing the Statue of Liberty.
Pride members boarded a ferry to the island after spending an hour taking in the beautiful weather in Battery Park.
For many, this was their first time seeing the iconic monument in person.
“It was smaller than I expected, hon estly, but I had a lot of fun, I did enjoy it,” Sara Carr, a sophomore trombone player, said. “It was cool to see the exhibits around it and cool to see it in person and all the history surrounding it.”
At Ellis Island, students were able to wander the National Museum of Immigration and look up their ancestors who immigrated to the island from 1892 to 1954. Nowadays, most people make the journey to America by plane.
“My great grandma came through Ellis Island when she was 14, so it was really good to see what she probably went through,” Amanda Jensen, a senior clarinet player, said. “I’m a big museum person, so I loved the museum there.”
After returning to Battery Park, Pride members disbanded to get lunch on their own and met back up again at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The visit was a solemn, yet educational, experience for many of the students.
“I thought it was very touching, very emotional,” David Delahoyde, a senior trumpet player, said, “but it did a good job of giving respect to the situation and to all the people involved with it.”
The Pride got dinner at John’s Pizzeria and Ben’s Deli, then made their way to Radio City Music Hall for the Christmas Spectacular show with the Rockettes.
Clara Wise, a sophomore mellophone player, said she really enjoyed seeing the show.
“My favorite part was the singers, actually,” she said.
The Christmas Spectacular fea tured dancers, singers, special light effects, some pyrotechnics and a live pit orchestra.
The next day, the band was set to have a rehearsal for the parade at Superdome Sports in New Jersey before performing a set at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum aboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid.
Delahoyde said he was excited to see the Intrepid museum, both for the his
tory there and the experience of playing for a crowd aboard the aircraft carrier.
“I think the performance will be neat too, to be able to perform in front of that [audience], so it’s a unique experience not a lot of people get,” he said.
The band, family and fans were trav eling with the Bog Rogers Travel com pany, which specializes in large student trips for the performing arts. The com pany is responsible for booking the flights, dinner reservations and attrac tions for all 650 South Dakota State University travelers.
One of the travel guides, Tom Merrill, is a 1989 SDSU alumnus and former member of the Pride drumline.
“I’ve been so thrilled and honored to be able to do this having been a member of the Pride,” Merrill said. “I literally have been looking forward to this for 18 months. And to be able to be here with the group even makes it more special. Every group is important, but this one is near and dear to my heart, because of that connection and the difference that the Pride made in my life when I was at SDSU and beyond.”
Above photo courtesy of Ainsley Boucher
The Pride of the Dakotas was prepped and ready to go Wednesday with the anticipation heating up for their performance Thursday.
After dining at the Hard Rock Cafe for breakfast, students hopped on seven buses and headed to Waldwick, New Jersey. The band spent most of the morning practicing its parade routine at Superdome Sports.
Elisabeth Riisnaes, a junior alto saxophone player, said she felt the rehearsal went well.
“I felt like today we had it pretty well
put together,” she said. “At least the line I was in, we didn’t miss our squats … we were able to turn at the right time, the lines looked pretty straight and everyone felt like they were on the right step.”
Kevin Kessler, director of athletic bands, said the process of getting to march in the Macy’s parade took multiple years.
“This whole process is three years in the making,” he said. “The beginning of putting together the application started in December of 2019. I am so excited.”
The anticipation and adrenaline also started to kick in for the students Wednesday, who said they were prepared and excited for the show the next day.
“I think the performance, the final
one [in front of Macy’s], will be totally cool,” Makira Wrage, a freshman sousaphone player, said. “We’ll be on national TV. We get to do it once and we have to make it our best run.”
Once the band returned from New Jersey, they headed to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum for a performance on the Intrepid aircraft carrier. Family, fans and museum visitors got the chance to hear the Pride perform the school song, “Yellow and Blue,” “Ring the Bell,” “Danger Zone,” “Veterans Salute” and more.
“It was really cool to do it in that sort of venue,” freshman tuba player William Karels said. “The ship was kind of like a sound shell, almost like we’re in a con-
cert hall, but it was still outdoors. We were able to be loud.”
Lori McMillan, mother of freshman trumpet player Grant McMillan, traveled with her family to New York Tuesday for the parade. They flew independently from the SDSU family group and made reservations at Pazza Notte for the day of the parade, as it had an exclusive view of the parade.
“It’s indescribable almost, it gives me goosebumps and chills,” McMillan said about watching the Intrepid performance. “They’re an amazing group of kids and I’m so excited to have them be on the world stage.”
Also in attendance at Intrepid were notable SDSU administrators. David
Reynolds, director of the School of Performing Arts, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dennis Hedge and President Barry Dunn made the trip over to New York Tuesday for the parade.
Dunn had a few words of encouragement to share with the band.
“You’re just such wonderful young men and women,” he said. “(I) couldn’t be prouder if you were all my grandkids.”
Dinner was again at Ben’s Deli and John’s Pizzeria, followed by a quick meeting on what would happen Thursday morning to prepare for the
parade.
It was an early night for the Pride as their call time for rehearsals Thursday was 2:20 a.m. Many Pride members, like Riisnaes, were anxiously awaiting the big event.
“I don’t think it hit me yet how big it’s going to be, so I hope I don’t get too nervous when we get there, but I’m so completely psyched,” she said.
The parade began at 9 a.m. EST and fans at home watched the coverage on NBC.
Far Left: The Pride of the Dakotas performed loud and clear at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Musuem for family, SDSU administrators and museum goers.
Left: The Pride practiced the parade route and set list for the big parade at Superdome Sports in Waldwick, New Jersey.
“ THE COOLEST PART HAS BEEN TYING WHAT I HAVE LEARNED IN CLASS INTO THE
Micah Lillie’s senior year was supposed to end last May, but he decided to stick around for one more semester for a very special reason.
Micah marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the South Dakota State University Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band while his younger brother, Harry Lillie, marched with the University of Missouri’s Marching Mizzou band.
“It’s exciting,” Harry said. “It’s something that when people march in Macy’s, they don’t get to do. When you have a sibling in band, the odds of us being together are slim. It’s not something that normally happens, especially when you have two schools that seem so separate from one another.”
Micah plays the baritone for the Pride and is a fifth-year senior majoring in journalism at SDSU. Harry, a sophomore geography major, plays the alto saxophone.
The brothers were joined in New York by their parents, Kent and Jolie, who are from Lakeville, Minnesota. Kent says he’s proud to see both his sons march in the parade.
“Once we knew they were both going, we looked at each other and knew that we would be going too,” Kent said. “It was one of those things that was a given so we started saving and planning right away.”
During Harry’s senior year of high school, he had already committed to Mizzou when they found out about going to Macy’s. While watching the announcement video, Harry said, he saw a short clip of the Pride and got an inkling that they too would be heading to march in the Big Apple.
Harry and his parents decided to keep the trip a secret from Micah and waited
until SDSU got their official invitation to Macy’s. At the time, Micah thought he would have graduated already and was just looking forward to going to New York to watch his brother and alma mater play. But Kent and Jolie convinced him to stay an extra semester to march with the Pride.
“My parents were like ‘You should stay and do another semester,’ but I was set on graduating after four years and not going over,” Micah said. “They really convinced me. It’s a nice epilogue, it’s one more show. I get to finish going out on top.”
Kent created a spreadsheet of all three itineraries–SDSU band, SDSU fans and Mizzou band– so the whole family knew what everyone was doing during their trip. On Monday, they all had a little time to get together and decided to see the firehouse from the 1984 “Ghostbusters,” something Micah had been wanting to see his whole life.
“Since he had been little, one of Micah’s things has been ‘Ghostbusters,’” Kent said. “There is not a force of nature or anything else that will keep him from seeing the fire station from ‘Ghostbusters.’”
Micah and Harry both attended Eastview High School in Apple Valley, Minnesota. Since they are three years apart, they only got one year to march together. Micah’s last performance during his senior year was thought to be the last time the brothers would perform together. But now five years later, they marched together again, albeit with different bands.
“Because this is such a big event, it’s hitting more that we’re going to be doing it together,” Micah said. “Even if it’s way apart, we’re gonna be in the same show, but on our own paths. It’s like, instead of being co-stars in a sitcom, it’s like a crossover event of our own individual shows.”
The Pride of the Dakotas marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Thursday, and for some members, this was their last guaranteed performance with the band. Sixty-four students will be graduating this year, and The Collegian caught up with eight of them to talk about their experience in band and their plans after graduating.
think it’s a wonderful experience. I’ve met a lot of really good friends I can call my family and had some great moments making music.
What are your plans after college: I think one thing I definitely want to do after I graduate is move somewhere a little closer to home. I’m not too far from home right now, but I’d love to move back to Nebraska and to be closer to my family that’s down there. And obviously, I’d want to utilize my degree in some way. Teaching down there sounds really, really nice, really awe some, something that I would love to do. And if I don’t end up teaching, I want to be involved in the music community somehow.
sure if I want to teach. I’m not really sure if grad school is in the future, but I would like it to be, just for choral conducting or voice pedagogy would be nice. But that’s pretty much what I’m looking at, but if I could teach middle school, that would be okay.
For example, it forced me to go to football games. In high school, I went to football games, but didn’t really care about them. I didn’t think I’d really care too much about football in college, but because I had to go to every football game, I ended up slowly getting into it. It’s gotten me to do things that I never would have done before like the one year we went to the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and we performed.
What are your plans after college: I haven’t completely decided yet, but I’m either gonna be a Spanish teacher or an English as a Second Language teacher.
anymore.
What are your plans after college: I’m hoping to get my master’s degree so I can teach at a university level. I’m hoping to teach religious history and religious studies.
Name: Major: From: Section/Instrument: What has your Pride experience been like so far: as finding a community, other than everybody who is in the music building already with my major. It’s a different sense of home. Since I do come from a town that’s so close to Brookings, I already know a lot of people, but it’s kind of nice to come and still meet people that have the same values as I do in performing arts and whatever else.
Marching band is also something that I didn’t really get to experience in my small high school, so coming to a much larger scale where it’s still fun, but also really valuable, is really nice.
What are your plans after college: My degree is in music education. I’m not
Name: Major: From: Section/Instrument: Tenor Saxophone
What has your Pride experience been like so far: It’s not like anything we’ve done before; all these years, and now this awesome experience of going to New York.
What are your plans after college: I am moving to Sioux Falls and I’m going to work at Avera McKennan Hospital.
Name: Major: From: Section/Instrument: What has your Pride experience been like so far: It’s been pretty fun, espe cially being in the drumline. We’re kind of a pretty tight-knit, bigger section of the band. We take up a majority of it, and we’re a really big leading part of the band. I think that that’s given me a very important role in the band as well as a very good environment, and a lot of fun working with those people.
Name: Major: From: Section/Instrument: What has your Pride experience been like so far: it keeps me busy. But I just couldn’t imagine feeling so connected to SDSU.
What are your plans after college: Being a medical lab science major, there’s a big demand for medical lab sci entists because they are only graduating like 18 of us a year. I actually signed a contract with Sanford Health to work there for two years after I graduated.
GRACIE TERRALL and JORDAN RUSCHE
The Pride of the Dakotas can now officially say they marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The band took to the streets of New York Thursday morning to represent the university and state of South Dakota for three million spectators in the crowd and millions more tuning in on TV.
“It was really a surreal experience,” said sophomore clarinet player Joseph Cassady. “Getting to look up and see the city and feeling the energy of the crowd … it changed how I look at the Macy’s Day Parade and just like my experience with music in general.”
The Pride started the day with an early morning call at 2:20 a.m. to run through their parade routine for NBC television crews ahead of their performance.
Pride members were surprisingly chipper despite the early rehearsal. Many attributed the adrenaline to excitement for the moment they’ve been preparing for the last year and a half.
“Overall today, the energy was amazing,” said Camryn Phinney, another sophomore clarinet. “Dr. Kessler gave a speech last night about how all the [past] Pride members were with us today, and that carried me through all the exhaustion I had.”
The band was joined by notable celebrities like Big Time Rush, who featured the Pride cheering from the waiting zone on their Instagram, Jimmy Fallon and Adam Devine.
Located behind the green dinosaur and baby dino float, the Pride played its street beats, “Ring the Bell ‘’ and West Side Story medley for 2.5 miles. They started at West 77th Street then moved down Central Park West where they turned on Columbus Circle and headed along 59th Street. The Pride then turned onto 6th Avenue where they walked another 25 blocks before making their way onto 34th Street, where the cameras in front of Macy’s waited to broadcast their 90 second
set for the entire country.
“I always watch the parade with my family, and I was kind of sad that I couldn’t be home with my family watching it, but then I was like, ‘wait, I’m in it, I’m in the parade that I watch every year,’” Thailee Baker, a freshman clarinet, said. “And just looking up, I was trying not to cry, because I was so happy to be here.”
Kevin Kessler, director of athletic bands, said he was grateful for the good weather and energetic crowd and expressed his own pride for the band.
“They just had a spectacular week,” he said. “They represented themselves, and the school and the state so well. They performed exceptionally well today.”
After the parade, the band gathered at Penn Station for a group photo before getting a few hours of rest ahead of the Manhattan Thanksgiving Dinner Cruise.
Cassady said his favorite part about New York was experiencing the city atmosphere.
“Seeing how much diversity there is in the city, seeing the different kinds of shops … of super niche things and everything just being lively all the time was exhilarating,” he said.
Another freshman clarinet, Jacquie Wold, said she enjoyed spending time in the city with her fellow bandmates.
“I just really enjoyed hanging out with my friends and having a good time,” she said.
Friday, the band flew out from NewarkLiberty International Airport, and the last group was scheduled to land back on South Dakota soil around 11 a.m.
Though some band members wereanticipating returning home by the end of the trip, it was a bittersweet ending to the trip for others like Wold.
“I want to stay here a little bit more, but I am happy to go home, I suppose,” she said.
Add Garden Glow to your wish list this holiday season. With over 250,000 lights, a new hot chocolate hut and both new and traditional displays of lights, it is a must see.
The annual event starts on Dec. 3 and runs through Jan. 6 at McCrory Gardens in Brookings. Hours are nightly from 5-9 pm. Admission is free to all current SDSU students, McCrory Gardens members, and children 5 years or younger. For ages 6+ admission is $9 per person. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Visit McCro ryGardens.com for the ticketing link.
The first Garden Glow ran for seven nights in 2015 and had 11 trees and a crowd of 51 people. Things have certainly changed throughout those years. Last year 11,000
people attended the event and this year you can expect to see up to 40 trees.
“That’s the fun of it,” says Lisa Marotz, Director of McCrory Gardens. “Garden glow has become a tradition for a lot of people and their families.”
The Enchanted Forest is the first display visitors will encouter on the walk. This display represents the foundation of the garden, which was built on philanthropy and giving back to the community.
“My favorite thing about Garden Glow is being able to have this for so many people of all ages and abilities to come and en joy,” Marotz says.
Visitors can grab a cup of hot chocolate from the new booth and enjoy walkthrough displays such as Mrs. Claus’s Re
McCrory Gardens is host to Garden Glow beginning Dec. 3.
treat, Candy Land, Reindeer Meadow, and many more. When purchasing your tickets, you also can rent their heated igloo for an additional cost of $50 for 90 minutes. This is a great way to escape the cold while getting a beautiful view of the gardens. Garden Glow would not be possible without all the love and support from community members and donors. One way McCrory Gardens celebrates their
donors is by sponsorship of their trees. Each tree in the terrace gardens will have a sponsor’s name beside it. McCrory relies heavily on donations and fundraising throughout the year to pull off this big event.
“That’s how Garden Glow got start ed-by people having a dream and making it happen,” Marotz says.
After Braden Paulsen graduated from South Dakota State University in May 2021, he knew he wanted to expand on his degrees in music education and theater.
“With the training from SDSU, I could easily be a music teacher, and I love that fact, but I felt like I needed just a little bit more concentrated training to be a performer to the level that I want it to be,” he said.
So, after completing his undergrad, Paulsen moved to New York City in August 2021, seeking a master degree in music and vocal performance, with a concentration in musical theater, from New York University.
Paulsen, who is from Brandon, South Dakota, said he has already gotten involved in some productions through NYU, like a production of Pippin that will perform in February and a pop group called Contemporary Vocal Ensemble. He said working with the professor for the ensemble, Janice Pendarvis, has been especially exciting.
“She’s like a legend,” he said. “All professors at
NYU very much are all professionals in the industry, so it’s super cool getting insight on performing from old performers.”
Paulsen said the move from South Dakota to New York and adjusting to life in a large city took some getting used to when he first arrived.
“I’d visited New York City, but it was kind of a foreign concept still, like the scary big city,” he said. “So moving here, there’s so many diff erent things just about the East Coast versus the Midwest... There are a lot of growing pains that came with it.”
He credited his success at NYU now to the extensive education and training he received at SDSU.
“I still stand by that SDSU has some of the best theater training in the Midwest,” he said. “The all-encompassing knowledge I gained is so, so beneficial to what I’m doing.”
After graduating this coming May, Paulsen hopes to audition for agents in the city to help connect him to musical theater roles, but he is keeping his options open for whatever opportunities present themselves.
“As time progresses and I gain experience, then I can maybe start being more selective, but it is kind of a case of just building up my skill set and training and whatnot,” he said.
The Pride had record numbers of enrollment this year with 344 members. Trumpets, drumline, trombones, baritones, saxophones, clarinets, piccolos, color guard, sousaphones, mellophones, percussion and drum majors make up the band.
The Pride traveled thousands of miles from Brookings, SD to New York City. They put in hundreds more walking the city and marching in the parade.
