Danielle Ramos is a senior captain of the color guard team at Glendale High School, who loves to read, crochet, and specifically play Animal Crossing on her Switch. She is very involved at school, being a part of Filipino Club and Fashion Club, plus she plans on joining a few more clubs as the year goes on. She also tries to volunteer at the public library when she gets the chance.
When she was picking out her high school schedule, during the Covid pandemic, Danielle saw a flier for the color guard team. She then decided to join the team instead of taking PE, because she thought it would be more fun and engaging. After she joined, she realized that she really enjoyed being on color guard. “I was able to show off talents I didn’t know I had,” she stated.
Danielle was previously a co-captain of the team last year, with Onyx Camacho, but this year the responsibility is all hers. Danielle isn’t worried to be the captain this year, as she has been in a leadership role since her sophomore year. When the opportunity came for the captain position, she saw it as a great opportunity. “I really wanted to show that I was capable of doing it and now I am, which is really nice,” she admitted.
Danielle really wants her team to shine this year. She shared that she would really like to win an award at a marching band competition. She feels that the training they’ve received, from their new coach, Ceasar, has been really positive. She said, “I would love for more people to join as well, and it’s really nice that [Mr. Jon] Livingston has been putting out announcements [about color guard].”
Being a captain on the color guard squad, and also collaborating with the marching band, is like team work. There are responsibilities that Danielle has to follow through on with her coach and Mikayla Eclavea, our current drum major. Danielle doesn’t mind sharing the responsibility between the five leaders of the marching band, because it is nice for her to work with people who are so excited to have a leadership position.
As color guard captain, Danielle has a whole list of responsibilities, including. helping her teammates and making sure that everyone is on task. “I don’t think I’m super strict, as it’s fun to see the shenanigans my teammates create,” she shared. “But I make sure everyone is doing what they’re supposed to.”
Danielle really loves this team, and her friends make it so worth it, even while standing in the heat during practice. She stated, “It’s always fun, because having to do that with a group of people who are so fun and cheerful, even through the pain, heat, and tiredness, is really nice. Like we are all struggling together, but we are all happy.”
After Danielle graduates, she is really going to miss the whole color guard program and the friends she has made. “The program that Ms. Rangel has established is really nice,” she said. “It has brought me so many memories and a feeling that is really very hard to replicate. But I’m definitely going to miss going back to the band room during snack and lunch and having to see my underclassmen friends.”
After high school, Danielle is set to continue her studies to be an a Labor & Delivery nurse or a nurse who works in the neonatal intensive care unit at a hospital. She also hopes to help support her family, because she is “so grateful for all the blessings they’ve given me.”
If you would like to join the color guard team, or the marching band, please contact Ms. Rangel at [email protected] and follow color guard on Instagram: @glendalecolorguard!
