An Arkansas State University student made history as the first Black woman drum major in A-State bands.

Alandria Maddox, a junior majoring in history from Jonesboro, has been drum major for over half a year.

“It is an amazing experience and is just a blessing. Honestly, I’m so thankful for that opportunity,” Maddox said. “What makes it so enjoyable is the support that I get from people that I’ve known for years, or people that I just met this year.”

Steven Riley, interim director of bands and director of athletic bands, said press coverage regarding Maddox didn’t happen until this semester due to the band being more visible during football season. 

“We really didn’t even process it here until very recently, either,” Riley said.

Maddox said the press coverage has been overwhelming.

“To be acknowledged for the things I’ve done instead of letting it be on the backburner has been a different experience,” she said. “There’s so many notifications on social media and I’m not a social media person. So it’s been a big adjustment.”

Maddox said despite the support she’s gotten from friends, family and her band, she said there have been comments where people thought she only got the position due to her race or gender. 

“That comes with being Black and a woman,” Maddox said. “But that wasn’t why I got the position. It was my character. It was my personality. It was my wit. It was my brain. That’s why I’m here. Not because of what I look like on the outside.”

Maddox said she is looking forward to using her position as drum major to educate people on the progress Black people have made, as well as discussing diversity at A-State. 

“It’s important for me to use this platform to establish not just a historical point and be a part of history,” Maddox said. “But to also recognize the contextualization before it and what this means after. Being able to tell people no, ‘we still got work to do.’”

Maddox has been in band since seventh grade, where she played the clarinet. Over the years, she has played different variations of the clarinet. When she got into her college marching seasons, she started playing sousaphone. 

“I didn’t want to march clarinet,” Maddox said. “I love to dance. I was like ‘yeah, I’ll dance with a 50 pound instrument.’ That was my mentality. So I just wanted to switch it up.”

Maddox has been a drum major since high school, which she said paved the way for her college band career.

She tried out her first year of college and didn’t get the position, but was told by Tim Oliver, former director of bands, to try again the next year. 

“So we had a conversation in a hallway while I was trying to run away,” Maddox said. “I was very busy and I was trying to run away and he was like, ‘Yo girl, we want to have a talk in this hallway. And I want to know why you’re not doing it.’ It was my final push over the edge to finally try out for drum major.”

Riley first met Maddox when she was in high school. He said even then, she was a significant part of her community. 

“She’s a wonderful member of our A-State band community. She’s got a really great understanding of the band, culture and community, from all perspectives of our students. I thought that some of those things were wonderful for her when she decided she wanted to apply for the drum major position,” Riley said. 

Maddox works with two other drum majors, Christian McNeice and Travis Slaughter. 

“Alandria is one of the spunkiest that we’ve had, especially in this group. She is definitely a person who has her own unique personality and loves sharing that with people,” Riley said. “That connection and engagement with students and with anybody who comes to our field is something that she just is very friendly and open about.”

Even in the classroom, Maddox acts as a leader.

“She’s a very good student, very energetic,” said Peggy Wright, instructor of political science. “She offers a lot of insight into the class and helps motivate other students to talk. She brings a perspective where they understand I’m not challenging you, but I’m also getting you to understand that I am a Black female from the Delta.”

Maddox tries to push her band to “spread a little more grace,” whatever the situation may be.

“You still have a life outside of that success or that failure. We all do,” Maddox said. “We’re all college students. We fail and succeed all the time. It’s just part of the process.”

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