The cheer of the crowd and the low hum of the announcer echoes through the stadium speaker as the familiar melody comes in and she starts her performance. This familiar Friday night experience is something that senior Sydni Segroves has been reveling in for years.
Segroves is captain of the Star Steppers Drill Team this year and will be leading the group throughout all the different events they have this year. She is also currently ranked first in her class.
“I love being captain because I have the opportunity to influence a lot of girls’ lives and [help them] start their journey in dance,” Segroves said. “[I can help to] make them into better leaders, and not just work on their dance technique, but help them with anything they need in life.”
Segroves has been on drill team for three years, one year as a line member, one year as a lieutenant, and this year as captain. Segroves has also been taking dance with Drill Team Director Keri Pierce at her dance studio for the past three years as well.
She’s a great student to work with– she’s very driven and hard-working. She’s an awesome captain on the drill team, I couldn’t ask for a better student to work with. — Pierce
In January, Segroves is going to the Texas Dance Educators Association(TDEA) Convention and will be representing Lindale. The convention will be from January 16-18 at the Houston Marriott Marquis.
“TDEA has a convention every January, and each drill team director brings one student to represent their school,” Pierce said. “She will go there and dance with all those other girls and she’ll also be eligible for some scholarship opportunities through that.”
The next big thing Drill Team is doing will be their performances in Spring Show which they will start working on as soon as the football season wraps up. The Spring Show is a performance held every April.
“Drill Team is super fun, and I feel like I’ve grown so much as a leader and as a person,” Segroves said. “I’m exposed to so many different people that I would never see at school usually, because [in Drill Team] I’m with sophomores and juniors and I learn so much from all of them.”
Segroves will be attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. After college, she plans to attend medical school and enter into the medical field in some way.
“Sydni [is just such] a sweet spirit and she’s such a good influence on all the other girls,” Pierce said. “She’s such a positive role model for everyone who meets her, and she’s a joy to be around.”
