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THE BAND FIELD — I played clarinet in my high school's marching band, and it was a place where anyone could fit in and find friends.
While watching some of my siblings perform at a regional marching band competition in St. George last weekend, I watched a senior in the life skills program at Westlake High School enthusiastically help lead its band as a drum major.
This video is another example of a marching band including someone who likely couldn't participate in other competitive outdoor activities, thanks to a band director going out of his way to include a student.
Casey Hubbard was born with spina bifida and is in a wheelchair, but he expressed a desire to march on the field. His band director, Adam Mewhorter, wanted to help and decided to push Hubbard around the field to each spot he needed to be.
Mewhorter says he has seen people in wheelchairs participating in marching bands from the front ensemble, something that happened in my band, but this band director wanted to do more than that.
The video shows clips from multiple competitions where the band director pushes Hubbard to each spot and then ducks behind the chair for a few seconds before pushing him to the next location.
This student's experience is different than most of the band members, but in this Good Morning America video he seems thrilled to be included.