If she hadn’t seen the Silver Spurs dancing on their elementary school tour as she watched quietly from the audience, Senior Lieutenant Keira Howard wouldn’t be one of five officers dancing in front of each drill team performance.
“I always wanted to be on drill team. The Spurs would always come to my elementary school and I loved watching them, so when it came time for high school, I wanted to try out and some of my friends also were, so them trying out kind of motivated me to do it,” Howard said. “It was nice knowing I had people going through it with me, and made me feel more comfortable knowing I was going into it with friends.”
Before becoming Senior Lieutenant, Howard served as a JV Lieutenant, where she led the JV team, in addition to performing on the varsity team.
“Working with JV was such a fun time, getting to know so many new people and watching their growth throughout the year,” Howard said. “It was also really cool to be a JV officer specifically, because my freshman year I started on JV, so it was fun to be a part of JV again in a different way.”
Howard dances under the direction of Ms. Brooke Parlin during her time as a JV and Varsity Spur and officer.
“Keira has blossomed as a leader over the last two years. She has gained confidence in her teaching abilities as well as in her ability to help peers navigate conflict. She has high standards for herself and always works hard to meet her goals, big or small,” Ms. Parlin said. “The uniqueness of Keira is that she is the most hilarious yet intense student I have. I have come to rely on her a ton this year and I will miss her so much when she graduates.”
In addition to dancing and leading as an officer, Howard balances her studies and work. She works at Buttermilk Sky Pie, which closes at 7 p.m., giving her time to focus on dance and school after work.
“Balancing all three feels very natural to me, I think I’ve just adopted lots of subconscious time management skills and implemented them into my daily life,” Howard said. “I work good under pressure and thrive off of business so having a lot to do helps me stay on top of things.”
Though she won’t pursue dance in college, she values the skills she learned in the dance program.
“I’ve absolutely loved the time I’ve spent dancing throughout high school and being a part of such a great team. I feel like dance served its time and purpose in my life and I will be okay with moving on from that,” Howard said. “Drill team taught me so many organizational, social, and life skills and I’ll continue to utilize those throughout the rest of my life.”
