girl scouts of the colonial coastFor her project, she created Band Aids for the Band—a training program that helps guide incoming freshmen through joining Great Bridge High School’s marching band program.
“I remember how stressful it was to start high school in the marching band,” Carolina said. “I wanted to make a difference to new members to become confident, understand what is expected in marching band, and gain a sense of belonging.”
It took almost 160 hours of hard work and dedication, but Carolina put in the necessary work. She designed a four-day mentorship camp to teach new band members all of the basics. Since its beginning, Carolina has run the program for two years.
Carolina also put her organizational skills to the test while creating the Band Aids for the Band program. She developed a system to organize the band room’s storage closet, which was full of sheet music, instruments and color guard equipment.
Because of Carolina’s new storage system, instruments in need of repair were brought back to life!
After Carolina graduates from Great Bridge, the program will continue on. She has trained a fellow student to run the program. That student has also committed to training their own replacement to keep the mentorship program going.
The program worked so well that Carolina’s band director wants to tell other high school directors about it, Carolina said.
“Overall, I just wanted to see something that is so dear to my heart grow and thrive to be its best,” Carolina said.
