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Melanie Gillott

I love theatre, singing, and writing.
"If you've got a dream, you've got to grab it and never let go." -Carol Burnett

Latest posts by Melanie Gillott (see all)

• The Future is Mine club hosts career and college fair - March 30, 2017
• SHS student job shadows WPXI’s Peggy Finnegan - March 3, 2017
• Local singer moves to LA to pursue music career - March 1, 2017

Southmoreland graduate, Courtney Mitchell, in her senior colorguard picture.

As Southmoreland graduate of 2016, Courtney Mitchell, marches the streets of New York City with her flag high into the air for Macy’s 90th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, she hears the roar of the crowd cheering for the “pride of West Virginia.”

The current West Virginia University freshman never thought that joining the Southmoreland Marching Band her eighth grade year would change her life dramatically.

“(Color guard) is my favorite thing to do, and I love being able to do it basically every day,” Mitchell said.

After being involved in color guard for five years in high school, Mitchell knew that she “wasn’t ready to let go of it.” So, she hoped that wherever she applied for college had a marching band so she could join their guard.

Mitchell, who is currently majoring in forensics with a minor in Spanish at WVU, said that the audition process was “very tiring” and “nerve-wracking.”

“I wasn’t too nervous until I drew my audition number and saw that I was in the first group to audition. That’s when my nerves really kicked in, but I made sure to try my best and have fun,” Mitchell said.

When she received her letter that she had been accepted, she immediately burst into tears.

“I was worried that I didn’t make it,” Mitchell said. “There were a lot of girls auditioning that were really good, so I knew the competition would be intense.”

Mitchell’s experience marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was “amazing, wonderful, and more than I ever thought it would be.”

“The support of the Mountaineer family was intense, and everywhere I looked, I saw a sign or a flag of a WVU fan,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell alongside band members Vanessa Kelley (right) and Michkayla Heard (left).

The band performed two of their pre-game songs, “Country Roads” and “Hail West,” along with the drum cadence. For the TV block, WVU’s Marching Band performed the song “Strike Up the Band” with “Country Roads” as their exit song.

“It all seemed like I was placed into a movie scene because everything was so perfect,” Mitchell said.

She said that she never thought that she would watch the parade in person, let alone actually perform in it.

“It was a dream come true,” Mitchell said. “I’m so thankful for the opportunity.”

Besides performing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with the band, Mitchell has also performed  at every home football game, one away game at FedEx Field in Landover, MD, home of the Washington Redskins, the WVU homecoming parade, the Wheeling Festival of Lights Parade, and a State Benefit Concert in southern West Virginia for those who have suffered from the flood. In addition, the band has performed demo shows at high schools.

“Ever since I joined color guard it has positively changed my life by not only giving me a hobby, but a passion,” Mitchell said. “It’s also given me a lot of opportunities to travel to places that I probably would never have visited before.”

As for the future, Mitchell plans to continue with color guard until she graduates college.

“Go after your dreams because you never know, they could just come true,” Mitchell said.