“I remember being upset [when I was about to transfer to Gibbons] …because Gibbons doesn’t have a marching band,” said Olivia Sorenson in her speech at the annual Junior Mass.

These words, spoken by Olivia Sorenson, a member of the Cardinal Gibbons band, echoed a long lasting question that has lingered in the minds of educators and students alike…

Why doesn’t Gibbons have a marching band? 

Well, here’s the truth:

Cardinal Gibbons is an exceptional school for many reasons. One of them that can often go unnoticed is the vast amount of opportunities to get involved, not just in one thing, but in many. 

Upon coming to our school, students experience a plethora of options for how they can spend their time during school hours and even outside of school hours. As a first year Crusader, the amount of clubs, extracurriculars, and charity opportunities can even seem overwhelming at times. However, a major part of Gibbons’ mission is to provide and encourage students to lean into and nurture their diverse interests, leading to a more multifaceted and well-rounded community. 

“It’s not that we couldn’t do a [marching band]. It’s that our whole mission at Gibbons is to be into doing so much more than just one thing,” said band educator Mr. Mark Cashin.

Currently Cashin has one-fourth of his band and drumline students participating in a varsity level sport. Another one-fourth of his students take part in a JV sport. Additionally, he has multiple students who are members of FYI, Student Council, Robotics, as well as various other clubs. 

In order to have a marching band at Gibbons, it would be necessary to only have students who were solely dedicated or concerned with music to participate. Consequently, these students would be missing out on other opportunities for personal and community development, in the form of clubs and extracurriculars. 

“What I love about our school is that our kids have way more of a diverse interest. To take them away from that… because they can’t devote their whole time to me? I find that to be very anti- our mission,” said Cashin.

So although Gibbons does not have a marching band, beneath the surface this actually highlights something positive in our community rather than something lacking – our school’s love and dedication to involvement itself.