When I first meet Alexis Castro, it seems like I just saw her five minutes ago. Castro is everywhere on campus – she’s performed in The Thespian, various assemblies, and band shows. I am intimidated, but her warm smile breaks the ice.
Castro, currently a senior, has performed in band since she was in middle school. She plays snare in the school drum-line and acts in the theater program.
Castro spends hours practicing and rehearsing for band and theater. “For the Twelfth Night production that happened in first semester…I never went home.” Rehearsals and crew days could last up to three hours, Monday through Friday.
“On Saturdays, during my lunch break, I would go help build the stage or such,” Castro explains. “I would do my homework late at night or in the class before it was due.”
Although she loves doing both theater and drumline, she admits dedicating more to drumline. Currently, she is captain of drumline, and they’ve performed their third show of the season on March 9th as a world class percussion group.
“I love my kiddos in drumline,” she says. “It makes me so happy to see how much they’ve grown as people and as drummers since the beginning of each season. We all share this very cohesive bond with one another.”
Castro’s dedication to percussion extends beyond school hours. She joined Blue Knights, a prestigious Drum Corps group, for this summer. Furthermore, she wants to attend a local college after high school because the top world class percussion groups are located in Southern California.
Castro has learned valuable life lessons from being a part of these extracurricular activities.
“There’s discipline, dedication, character, motivation, and focus, just to name a few,” she says. “I’ve grown in so many ways as a person, musician, and performer.”
Alexis!!!!!! 😀 your awesome <3