Bennett Sailer is a senior committed to his duties as a drum major in band. He’s also restoring a Mazda Miata with his best friend and is a two time Subway Surfer world champion.
At a Glance:
Favorite fast food chain: Chicken Express
Favorite video game: Subway Surfers
Favorite song: “Like Me” by Steve Lacey
Favorite hobby: Watching “How to Train Your Dragon”
Looking Deeper:
The Red Ledger: When and why did you join band?
Bennett Sailer: I joined in sixth grade. I had to choose between fine arts and I didn’t really want to do choir, so I thought I’d just give band a shot. I started doing it and then realized I loved it and here I am as a senior. I play french horn; I’m drum major, the one who conducts at the front for our show. I started on trumpet, and in eighth grade they didn’t have enough french horns so I switched.
TRL: What do you find enjoyable about being drum major?
BS: I just like leading. I think it’s really cool to be able to show, teach people, and help people figure it out if they’re struggling.
TRL: How big of a commitment is band and how do you deal with it?
BS: It can be [difficult to manage]. We just finished our marching season on Saturday and we’re done now. It’s 7:00 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. every morning. We drum majors have to be there at 6:30 a.m.. I have to be in bed early so homework will sometimes go into that and I’ll have to do it during classes or certain times in the day to make sure I get sleep.
TRL: How has band benefitted you?
BS: I’ve been on our leadership team since my sophomore year and I’ve been in three different positions, but each one has taught me different things. Drum major has taught me the most, partly with responsibility. We have the most responsibility out of anyone in the band and making sure everything gets done for rehearsals, everything is ready. We have to be perfect because if people see us, and we’re not perfect, they think that they don’t have to be. We’re held to a very high standard, so it’s taught me how to be the best I can possibly be.
TRL: Do you participate in any other extracurriculars or clubs?
BS: I’m in the automotive club, which we just created a few weeks ago. It’s a bunch of guys who like cars, talk about them, and just hang out.
TRL: What can you tell me about the car you’re restoring?
BS: Me and my best friend bought this salvaged car that was totaled from an auction. We’d been looking for this type of car for a long time and we saw this one that was a lot cheaper and thought we could fix it up. We bought it back in March, got a trailer, went and got it, and then figured out it had a lot more issues, of course. Right now it is currently in pieces with the engine out, everything’s out of it right now. But next weekend we’re putting it all back together. It’s a long process but it’s definitely very fun. Being able to have something that was broken and then fix it and think, “we did that,” is pretty cool.
TRL: What can you tell me about being the #1 Subway Surfers champion twice?
BS: Last year I got really bored and started playing it way too much. I did it for three hours straight through lang and psychology. I got ten million and I was #1 in the world for about a week. I don’t play as much anymore because I don’t have as much time, but maybe when marching season’s over I’ll get back into it. It’s just been the game I’ve always had.
