Shortly after graduating from the University of Lynchburg this Saturday, Renee Banks and Endasia Mitchell will head off for careers in the U.S. Marine Corps.
On May 20, Banks, a music education major from Fort Washington, Maryland, will begin training with the Marine Corps Band in Norfolk, Virginia. At Lynchburg, Banks performed with the Wind Symphony, Jazz Ensemble, Community Jazz Band, and the Saxophone Quartet and Trio.
She plays saxophone, clarinet, flute, and piano, but in the Marine Corps, she will play saxophone as a field musician.
Banks said she had no intention of being part of the Marine Corps Band, or any military band for that matter. Her original plan was to go to graduate school, although she was concerned about the costs associated with it. After seeing the Marine Corps Band perform on campus during her junior year, however, she started to see the military as a possibility.
“Of course, it was the best concert ever, but after the concert a good friend of mine introduced me to the Marine Band recruiting officer, since he was looking for a saxophonist,” Banks said. “I informed him that I didn’t think I would be qualified to earn my place in a military band. However, he said auditions are free and I could use the opportunity … to prepare for possible graduate school auditions.”
Banks auditioned during the second semester of her junior year and was told later that day that, if she wanted it, there was a place for her in the Marine Corps Band. A “big bonus,” Banks said, is that the Marines will pay for graduate school.
Asked if anyone at Lynchburg helped her get to this point, Banks credited the music faculty, specifically Dr. Cynthia Ramsey and adjunct music professor Kyle Greaney. “[They] pushed me, with my peers and personally, to be the … best I can be and then better the day after.
“Professor Greaney, my saxophone professor, made me learn and perform pieces that I honestly believed were far beyond my skill level. Obviously I was wrong. Because my parents raised me to follow instructions and respect my teachers, I couldn’t tell him, ‘No.’ The results were that I learned how far I could go if I just pushed myself a little, or a lot, further.”
Mitchell, a Westover Honors scholar from Perry Hall, Maryland, will graduate from Lynchburg with degrees in criminology and Spanish. Her military training begins on June 1 at the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia. Once she successfully competes OCS, she will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marines.
Mitchell said it was her intention to go into federal law enforcement, but when she started investigating the process, she found out that the best candidates had prior military or state-level experience.
“Looking at my options, I needed experience going in, so it’s either military or working for the state or something before you go in,” Mitchell said. “I have no idea why the option switched to ‘military’ in my head, but I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
Mitchell, a middle-distance runner and jumper for the women’s track and field team, said her Lynchburg experience will benefit her in numerous ways. “The honors program will, definitely,” she said. “You’re staying up late, studying for stuff, studying hard for classes. That’s going to help with the education process. And being a track athlete will help fitness wise. We don’t just run; we jump, we lift.”
Mitchell said she’s currently trying to break in her military boots and running in a weighted vest to get ready for the physical challenges of OCS. “I feel like I’m prepared,” Mitchell, the 400-meter champion at the 2019 Old Dominion Athletic Conference meet, said. “I’m just increasing my confidence level. Trying to mentally get ready.”
While she doesn’t yet know what her military occupational specialty will be, Mitchell said she’s “shooting for intelligence” and that she’d like to be stationed in Japan. “In my perfect world, I want to go to Japan,” she said. “It seems like cool place to go. If I get the job that I want I will definitely be making a career out of it, the full 20-plus years.”
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Shortly after graduating from the University of Lynchburg this Saturday, Renee Banks and Endasia Mitchell will head off for careers in the U.S. Marine Corps.
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