In honor of Women’s History Month, the Madison Scouts are proud to feature stories from the first class of women in membership as well as the women on staff.
Sierra Rogers is from Casa Grande, AZ, and currently resides in Mesa, AZ. Rogers will be spending her second summer with the corps and serves as a visual instructor.
“I want to see this drum corps support each other both in a way that drives our competitive success but also prioritizes our health and well-being. I think that more than anything, I want to see Madison Scouts on finals day, walking away happy and healthy and very proud of the work they’ve put in regardless of placement.” -- Sierra Rogers
How did you become involved with marching band and subsequently the Madison Scouts?
R: I started doing band back when I was in fifth grade and carried that all the way through high school. I actually got into drum corps because I have an older brother who plays snare drum and he went and auditioned for The Academy. We both went and auditioned. He got cut, I got a spot. I ended up marching eight years of drum corps with The Academy. Afterwards, I aged out and the only thing I really wanted to do was go and teach drum corps. I immediately sent resumes to every single caption head I knew and was so overjoyed to hear back from Scouts especially after it was announced the corps would be going co-ed. It was a really special moment for me to be a part of that part of the Scouts’ history and that’s how I ended up here.
How does your experience at The Academy impact how you teach at Scouts?
R: I think the number one thing that translates from my time as a marcher to my time as a staff member is always trying to place the members’ experience first. The staff members I appreciated the most when I was marching were the ones who were looking out for you. They had great information but they gave it in a way that made you feel like you were a part of the process rather than the outside observer. The thing that has carried with me is trying to emulate those really great instructors that I had that made the experience something that was more collaborative and something more organic and fun.
What brought you to Scouts and why did you decide to join the staff?
R: I was drawn to Scouts because honestly, the application process seemed the most professional out of any drum corps I applied to. I was really drawn to working with Tim because he was someone who had taught me for a brief time at Academy and I really appreciated his energy and his enthusiasm for the marching arts.
How was teaching MadU? What is it like teaching visual lessons online?
R: I’ll be honest with you, I love doing virtual visual lessons so much. It’s one of the only times I get to work with students one on one instead of against 80 brass. You try to give such broad comments and can’t ever get individual comments that help every performer rep to rep. We were really able to achieve that in the lessons and it was so enjoyable. It felt very productive and it was a great way to get to know the students as well during that COVID season.
How was your 2021 season? What was it like for your first season teaching in person?
R: For it being my first season teaching drum corps, obviously it was a little weird because of a shortened season. The pace was much faster than I was anticipating but we were so much more productive because we had to be so effective with our time. It was a little more nerve wracking coming in and trying to find my place on staff and how we were going to unify our approach, but everybody got along so well together. I think throughout the season I was continually blown away by how much we were able to do and what a high level of excellence the students were able to achieve every single day. That level is something we only associate with 80 days of work which gets you to the end product. We had half the amount of time and got really close to that same amount of excellence which is something that I’m very proud of the students for achieving.
Why did you want to come back for 2022?
R: I really wanted to come back because I wanted to see what we could do with a full season. I think there was so much potential that we tapped into last year and I think that there’s just a really strong culture at Madison Scouts that I’m really excited to see more of, be around more, and kind of witness how the corps evolves and grows up into itself a little bit more this year.
What goals, both personal and for the corps, do you have for the 2022 summer?
R: I want to gain more confidence as a staff member and push my own comfort zone a little bit. Find some things I’m not good at and learn how to do them better. As a staff member, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that I always need to know everything but that’s never the case. I want to continue to grow and learn from the staff members around me but also from the students on a daily basis. For the corps, I want to see this drum corps support each other both in a way that drives our competitive success but also prioritizes our health and well-being. I think that more than anything, I want to see Madison Scouts on finals day, walking away happy and healthy and very proud of the work they’ve put in regardless of placement. Of course, I still want us to place really well, but I don’t think that finals placement is what makes a summer great.
What is your favorite memory with the Scouts so far?
R: I think it has to be the Fourth of July parade last year. I have never seen a drum corps get so hyped for something that feels so silly but it’s so nice to see the students have fun and mess around and connect with our community. I had such a blast.
