JCSU News Update

West Coast student marching to JCSU

Cardell K. Smith has dreamed of being
in the JCSU Drumline since he was nine.

April 9, 2008 -- A high school student in Olympia, Wash., will realize a lifelong dream in the fall when he joins the Johnson C. Smith University Drumline, as a freshman.

Cardell K. Smith, who grew up in Fayetteville, N.C., first saw the JCSU Drumline perform at Fayettevile State University. He said he heard them before he got to see them, and the beat really stuck with him. When he was nine-years-old he saw the group perform at JCSU’s Homecoming. From that moment on, he wanted to be on the field, joining them in pounding out a beat and keeping that rhythm.

Once Smith knew what his goal was, he took steps to accomplish his dream. He began playing the drums, loving the way that the instrument moved him. “It was the freedom of expression,” he explained. “If I was mad, I could show it. If I was happy I could show that on the drums.”

Smith initially faced obstacles on his march to being part of the JCSU Drumline. In middle school, he tried out to be in the band but, unable to read sheet music, he was not accepted. That didn’t stop Smith from dreaming, though. All through middle school he kept checking up on JCSU through the Web site for information about the band and the school.

Time marched on. With practice, persistence, and the ability to read sheet music, the diligent drummer was accepted into his high school band as a freshman at Ridgeview High School in Columbia, S.C. Smith credits his mom with some of his success, saying that she helped him get his foot in the door by securing an audition for him.

Smith’s father, a soldier in the U.S. Army, was transferred to Fort Lewis, Wash., where the family lives now. Smith has continued to nurture his growing talent and interest in music. As a senior at North Thurston High School, near Olympia, Wash., he plays drums in his school’s jazz band and for his church.

The drummer has discovered a new passion. For his senior project, Smith had the opportunity to work as an assistant sound engineer inside a music studio in Tacoma, Wash. He worked on a country music project that they were sending to Nashville, Tenn., to help support the troops. Smith said sitting behind the soundboard was like coming home.

“You know when you come home and sit down to watch TV how you’re comfortable? You’re at ease. It was like that,” he said. “(I’ve) never been in a place where I felt I belonged more than that.”

That’s why Smith hopes to further his musical goals at Johnson C. Smith. He plans to major in music business and technology when he enrolls in the fall.

But it was the JCSU Drumline that first piqued his interest in the university. Even though he now lived across the county, Smith wanted to attend JCSU and play drums for the band. He stayed in touch with JCSU Band Director Thurman Hollins through emails. So when Smith finally auditioned this spring for Hollins, he describes the experience as “nerve-wracking.” Preparation for his audition had been exhaustive. Every day after school for two months, Smith practiced, giving up time to hang out with his friends. Daily, he could be found tapping out the beat and working on rhythm. The audition was a moment for Smith to shine and to put his months of practice to work.

“He’s a good player,” Hollins said. “He’s, of course, still at the high school level, but we’re going to work with him to get him up to where we need him to be.”

Of his audition, Smith said, “For me, I always had people tell me I was good, but you never know if you are really good until you are around other people that you know are good. I guess I did well, because they offered me a spot on the field.”

The future freshman’s attitude also made an impression with the university band director. “What we really like is his enthusiasm,” said Hollins. “He’s already bleeding Gold and Blue.”

Hollins especially appreciates Smith’s long-running interest in the JCSU band. “We’re excited by the fact that he’s followed us for so long and he’s been impressed by our program through the years, even as we changed directors,” said Hollins. “I’m glad that he could come and that we still had a good product to show him, a good show.”

While on campus this spring, Smith had the opportunity to see what life is like at JCSU, spending time with current students. That reassured him that his long-time dream was right for him. “I didn’t want to go home,” he joked. “I’ve never been around so many cool people.” Smith said his visit “sealed the deal,” and that JCSU was like a big family that immediately accepted him into the fold.

“I knew that I could be successful there, being around positive people,” Smith explained.