Courtney Sheridan has lost her voice. She spent her Saturday afternoon shouting orders over the din of thousands of rowdy students, screaming up the stands to command hundreds of young adults. 

“We have a mic,” she rasps, adding, “but sometimes even with the mic, I have to yell to be heard.”

Courtney is tall, but that is not what makes her easy to spot in the crowded stands at football games. Even her bright red hair is a weak identifier, often hidden under a plumed hat. Every game, she earns a roar from the crowd as the top of that hat hits the ground behind her feet in the traditional pregame opener, the drum major’s strut to midfield and subsequent backbend, but hardly anyone would recognize all that pomp in the woman underneath the uniform. 

Courtney leads the Pitt Band as drum major in its 112th season, a role not easily won. The audition process is especially arduous.

“It’s a process that we have everybody go through. We evaluate a lot of skills,” says Dr. Brad Townsend, director of bands at the University of Pittsburgh, “physical skills and conducting ability.”

Courtney has gone through this process twice: once at the end of her sophomore year, which did not result in her earning the position as either head drum major or one of the two assistants, and once in February of her junior year. 

“At first I thought, ‘this might be fun!’” she says. “The biggest thing I learned from auditioning the first time is that, while it might be scary to put yourself out there, it’s worth it.”

It was this attitude that propelled Courtney to audition again her junior year. Courtney had made it quite far her sophomore year. She was one of four finalists for the three available roles. Despite her early success, Courtney entered the audition her junior year with no expectations.

“I just wanted to put my best foot forward and show them everything I had,” she says, but acknowledges that her success the first time had an impact. “The unintended side effect of doing that [first audition] was that a lot of people are there watching, and a lot of people saw me audition. People told me that audition was what decided it for them, even if I just had to wait a little bit more.”

“When we auditioned this year, it was clear that she was on top in terms of all of the skills that we needed the drum major to do,” says Dr. Townsend. “Everything we asked her to do she could do right away.”

Courtney is not as ostentatious as her gameday strut. She easily commands the respect of the band, due in no small part to her unique leadership philosophy. When Courtney noticed separation between the various sections of the band, she realized how her presence could inspire greater unity. She regularly goes out of the way to engage some of the more siloed sections of the band: the drumline, color guard, and baton-twirling Golden Girls.

“When I reached out to Courtney, she was just so eager to help and responded with so much kindness,” says junior piccolo player Yaa Kornne. “She leads the band with such grace and poise and takes ownership of the role.”

“The most important thing for me this year is making sure that we’re very respectful of one another,” she says. “I have gotten a lot of positive feedback from people in those sections. They didn’t realize they were missing the opportunity to get to know other parts of the band.”

 “We can do all we can do as the adults, but when it’s student to student, that’s just powerful. It’s something she does well,” says Dr. Townsend.

“I’ve never heard Courtney complain. It just shows how committed she is to Pitt and just in life,” says sophomore trumpet player Andrew Miller. “She’s always been a good mentor.”

That is perhaps the greatest strength Courtney Sheridan brings to the field. Even as she is puffed up by praise and adoration from those around her, she remains the same stubbornly humble woman who approached every audition with a simple desire to try her best. 

“The reason why I wanted to audition for drum major was because someone put the idea in my head that I could,” she says. “I knew that I liked being in that position where I could make a positive impact on the group.”

Whether Courtney sees it or not, her positive impact will surely be felt long after she hangs up her plumed hat.