All nine senior members of the Worthing High School Marching Pride of Sunnyside Band have received $50,000 scholarships to play for Langston University, the Houston Independent School District announced Monday.
The scholarships were announced during a trip to Oklahoma for band tryouts back in November, but were made widely known on the school’s blog last week.
“The best moment of the trip was seeing the excitement of my seniors once they received their scholarships – nine students with over $50,000 each,” said band director Kuan Mitchell. “I couldn’t have written the script any better.”
All 60 members of the band, including its dancers, traveled to Langston University on Nov. 12. The university is a historically Black college 40 miles north of Oklahoma City. The students toured the campus, practiced with the Langston University band, and met its director, and were able to perform during the football game with the university band, according to the school’s blog about the scholarships.
Principal Everett Hare also took part in the trip and called the scholarships a “major achievement.”
“I’ve never seen it where all of them earned scholarships,” Hare said. “Other schools also took part, so it was competitive.”
Hare said the experience was potentially life-changing for all members of the band, even the underclassmen.
“Some of the students had never visited a college campus,” he said.
Worthing alumni now attending Langston answered questions from the students who traveled from Houston.
The Worthing band will represent Houston at next year’s National 4th of July celebrations in Washington, D.C., according to the district.