Braydon White, a senior at McLoud, first joined winter and color guard to make friends. He didn’t realize at the time that it would become a creative outlet and a passion.
He was new to the school, didn’t really know anyone, and wasn’t involved in a lot of extracurriculars. Then he made friends with people in band, and they mentioned winter guard to him. So Braydon decided to join freshman year.
“I was like, well, yeah, I want to do that to be around people more. And then I just developed a really strong passion for it, and I loved it,” he said.
Now, Braydon’s the captain and helped grow the program. When he first started, there were about seven people on the team, but they were seniors and graduated. Sophomore year, it was him and two seniors. Junior year, it was only him Now, there are 13 members in winter guard.
“He has helped the guard grow by being a pillar. He is incredible at his craft. He has pushed those around him to do better, and that in turn has allowed for harder choreo,” said band director Cody Tollison.
He added that Braydon is an incredible and hard-working student who goes above and beyond.
“He’s willing to stay late and fix any problems for the betterment of the guard,” Tollison said.
Braydon is admittedly self-taught. He said he never had an instructor when he was younger, but was that kid who spent time out in the backyard pretending they were a ninja twirling a stick around.
“That just translated really well into, you know, I gotta throw something in the air and catch it,” he said.
Color guard is something that Braydon hopes to continue in the future, though morehasahobby.He’splanningtomoveto Oregon after graduation and attend dental school. He wants to be a choreographer.
“I enjoy, first of all, making it and the creative outlet that it is, but then actually teaching it to people and seeing them light up when they finally get it and smile. Like, ‘Oh yes, I got it. Yeah, I can do it.’ That really just moves me, and I really like it,” he said.
Color guard has opened more creative outlets at McLoud High School for Braydon. Starting last year, he became involved with drama and theatre, and is currently the dance captain for the school’s upcoming production of “Beetlejuice Jr.” as well as playing Charles, Lydia’s father.
Last year’s production of “Mean Girls” was the first time he’d ever done theatre. Braydonsaidhealwaysthoughtitwascool, but never thought of himself as someone who could sing and dance on stage.
“Color guard actually did help me with that, like performing in front of a group of people, and made it less scary to do it in a different way,” he said, though Braydon admitted that singing was still kind of terrifying.
Still, auditioning for Damien was a bit of a whim. He ended up really enjoying the role.
Transitioning from a light and cheery musical to the more serious one-act “The Door” this past fall, however, was a bit more. Braydon confessed he was intimidated, and it was hard to get into the emotional side. He played Justin, a gay teenager who tries to get his grandmother to reclaim her life.
“I was already having a lot of inner turmoil, whether being in senior year, and I’m moving soon, and everything. I was just overwhelmed. And then having to take the emotion of such a deep show and a traumatized character and portray that… it was really hard,” said Braydon, who is gay himself. “It was pretty draining, but I did enjoy it. The message was important to me.”
Drama teacher Shonna Vandivort said Braydon’s performance stood out to her for the depth and realism that he added to the character.
“We had many discussions about his character’s background, choices, and his relationship to the character. It was a deep and challenging role, and Braydon allowed himself to be vulnerable as he presented the character on stage. The audience really connected with him,” she said.
She called him an amazing student, creative, artistic, dedicated and open to trying new things. He’s also the kind of actor a director loves because he’s always looking to improve himself, understands the “why” behind his character’s choices, and is open to feedback.
Braydon made the All-Star Cast at regionals for the role, something he said was very unexpected, though he was touched that people connected with his character.
“I was honored that people thought my performance was that good. I was so happy that it actually touched people, that they actually got the message,” he said.
Whatever life brings for Braydon after high school, he’s excited for the adventure and moving to the Pacific Northwest, calling it a sort of fairy tale. His teachers look forward to seeing all he can accomplish.
“I hope Braydon sees himself as others see him. I hope he recognizes how talented he is and that he is capable of achieving all his dreams. I want him to be confident in who he is and what he has to offer to the rest of the world,” said Vandivort. “The world is a better place because of him, and I hope he never loses his kindness, compassion, and joy in living.”
This is the latest in the Senior Spotlight series, highlighting senior students from all of the high schools in the Lincoln County News coverage area.