AROUND CAMPUS

Wyatt Phillips, a sophomore and broadcasting major at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, continues to be involved with his high school even after graduating.

Phillips, a graduate from Southern Alamance High School, continues his involvement with the school band by volunteering to be a member of the field crew.

For the past two years whenever October comes around, Phillips gets ready for grueling Saturdays spent loading and unloading all of the band’s equipment in preparation for competitions.

Starting at the school, Phillips helps load everything the band needs into a trailer.

He then travels with the band to their final competition destination where he then unloads the trailer and begins to set up, starting with the pit equipment and ending with props.

“We have five minutes to set everything up and then five minutes to take everything down,” explains Phillips.

His Saturdays usually begin at 8 a.m. and end sometime after midnight. It’s a hard day’s work with no pay, but Phillips says he enjoys it nonetheless. “It’s just something I like to do,” he explains.

Phillips graduated from Southern Alamance in 2004 where he played the trumpet in the school band.

Starting his freshman year, Phillips continued to play the trumpet throughout his high school years.

However, Phillips has been playing the trumpet since he was in the 6th grade.

It was an awkward transition at first, Phillips admits, from being the performer to then being the watcher.

“I help set up and then I’m watching them perform, but I’m not participating,” Phillips explains.

Today, however, Phillips just enjoys being involved with the high school band.

He says being a volunteer for the band has taught him a lot, especially how to work well with others and how to set up equipment at lightning speed.

Although Phillips does not currently play the trumpet for UNCP, he stays involved with WNCP TV, the school’s local TV station and is the senior production assistant for WNCP News.

He is also an active member in LSOP and the College Republicans.