Hello! My name is Alyssa Monas. I am 20 years old (turning 21 on May 25th), and this will be my second year marching with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. I started my color guard career at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where I marched for all four years of high school. After graduating in 2006, I continued marching winter guard with Braddock Independent World for two years. As for my drum corps career, I started at the Magic of Orlando in 2004, continued with the Boston Crusaders in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and went to The Cadets in 2008. Marching drum corps has changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. Even though I have only marched with The Cadets for one season, I have learned more from that one summer than from all of my summers combined. Not only did I learn lessons related to drum corps and color guard, but I learned a ridiculous amount of life lessons that I am going to be able to use forever. I have come along way with this activity, and I am so grateful that I am being given the opportunity to march my age-out with an organization that means the world to me. However, much like the rest of the country, my money situation is worse than ever. This past year, I have made many changes in my life. I have always considered color guard my top priority.

Although I probably shouldn’t have, I even put it before my schooling. For example, for my first two years of college, I went to a school near home so that I could march Braddock, a color guard I idolized in high school. After this past summer, I moved to Tallahassee to work towards a degree in Music Therapy at Florida State University. This is the first time that I have put school before color guard, and it has certainly paid a toll on my finances. Despite numerous job hunts, I have been unable to find a job here, with the exception of some accompanying jobs I managed to snag throughout the year. Times are also very tough for my mother, who is about to lose her business that she has had for over seven years. I have dedicated the last six and a half years of my life to this activity, and it would be devastating if I were unable to complete my drum corps career because of money issues. Taking the winterguard season off this year was absolutelyheartbreaking for me, and I would not be able to handle that again. Color guard has made me the person I am today, and by receiving this scholarship and busting my butt this summer to be the best I can be, I hope that I will be able to give back to the activity by giving every audience I come across the performance of my life!

Since high school, color guard has been a main part of my life and it has taught me so much and has truly made me the person I am today. I now have the chance to march Corona World Winter Guard but the financial responsibilities are hard to fulfill.It has been a dream to be apart of this guard for years and I would hate to losemy spot due to a lack of money. Guard is one of the only places I feel that I canbe myself and it’s great that I always have room to learn and grow in the activityI love.

"The Cadets, YOU may take the field in competition!" A quote that has the power to send adrenaline, excitement, and most of all confidence throughout your entire body. I had always dreamed of what it was like to perform with The Cadets until last summer. My name is Mallory Yohannan, I am 17 years old and a senior at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. I am currently one of the captains of our color guard. I first started marching drum corps in 2005 with The Magic and went on to march the Boston Crusaders in 2006. By the time the 2007 season came I had found my permanent home with The Cadets. In November I was honored to receive the 2007 "Rookie of the Year Award". Being a part of drum corps has changed my life in more ways than I already know. It is my dream to continue marching with The Cadets until I age out in 2012. I am extremely excited to go back to The Cadets for the 2008 season except for the fact that I wake up every day withthe added stress of trying to find the money to get there. Finding money to march has been a struggle for me every year, but more so this year than ever. My parents helped when they could, but they simply don't have the money this year. Being only 17, it is hard to find a good job. I work in the mall for little pay and hours because of my hectic schedule with high school and winter guard. Besides my love and infatuation for the activity, I have another dilemma about being home this summer. My boyfriend of a year (whom I met through The Cadets) is enlisting in the Marines. Soon he will be gone and I will not be able to talk to or see him for four months, only write letters. If I do not get the opportunity to march this summer, not only will I be heart broken, but I will also be wishing I was marching more than ever. Being a part of The Cadets means the world to me. Not a day goes by that I don't think about The Cadets. I am choosing to utilize thelessons and motivation I have learned (and the ones I will learn in the future) from George Hopkins and the staff for the rest of my life. Things I learned this past summer have already helped me in so many ways this year alone. Next year, I plan on teaching and am confident I will do a great job because of the experience I have gained from drum corps. I am very proud of things it has given me the faith to do. I never really knew what it was like to have a passion for something until I became a member. I can't see my life without the activity. It has molded me into the person I am today.

My name is Amanda Bell. I am currently a senior at Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas . Graduating class of ‘08! I shall be attending college at the Universityof Houston starting the fall of 2008 and cannot wait to turn that page in my bookcalled “Life.”

The number one reason why I should be chosen for this scholarship?Passionate about music, of course. Since I was very young kid, I have grown up aroundmusic, with my mom teaching piano out of the house and my dad playing guitar frequently.I started out as a percussionist in sixth grade, which is typical for most kids.The whole band saga of life begins. I had teachers who saw potential in me and pushedme because they knew I had a knack for drumming and droppin’ beats. I went to myvery first DCI show in Houston the summer after my sophomore year and told myselfI would do that one day. And lo and behold, look at me now; after playing marimba,snare, tenors, and bass two during marching and indoor drumline seasons of my highschool career, I think it’s time for me to move on to something more challenging,gut-wrenching, and exciting.

Everything I have witnessed has helped me get a feelfor what I want to do with my life: become a major in music education and teachpercussion. I figured becoming a part of a drum corp organization would not onlyhelp me with my future but be one of the best experiences of my life. I am now amember of the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corp for the 2008 season and I play bass two.This is my first season to march drum corp. I am working two jobs so I can makethis happen for myself and have quickly realized that paying for all the expensesis half the battle. But that won’t stop me. Devoted and hard-working are two characteristicsthat could describe me. I have many friends in the drum corp world and I have heardstories of how hard it can get; I’m preparing myself but I won’t know for sure whatI am getting myself into until I actually experience it. Either way I am ready andwilling to push myself. My passion for music is what drives me.

It’s what drivesme forward in life. It never gives up on me and I never give up on it. It’s a mutualrelationship. Music is always right there with me to help me take on the world.

Hello, my name is James Times III. I have been a Drum Major previously for 3 years at my high school which was Miami Springs Sr.High. I made the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps as Asst. conductor in 2007 but was unable to tour because of money. So now this year I will be Asst. Conductor for the Blue Coats and I was hoping i wouldn't have to go through a repeat feeling of let down. Drum Corps is my biggest dream right now, I love the marching arts activity and I feel that i am extremely dedicated to the activity as well. I am very serious when it comes to Conducting and performing. I've been told that I bring a great deal of motivation through my conducting to the performers and I think that is a very important part of being a Conductor even more so in a Drum Corps where the performs feed of the energy much better than a regular high school band. It'll be really great to get this Scholarship so can pursue my dream as a Conductor for The Blue Coats andhopefully during my 3 years left i will have the honor of receiving the Jim Jones Leadership Award for DCI. Thanks for the opportunity.