When Coal Ridge High School junior Ava Karren walks onto the football field, she has a strategy.

“I try to not look as super scared as I definitely am, but I try to look confident when I walk.”

That may be easier said than done when the eyes of 50 musicians are trained on her.

This fall, Karren became the first dedicated drum major in the Coal Ridge High School band program, stepping onto the podium to lead a marching band that grew from just 17 students a few years ago to 50 today.

Coal Ridge has experimented with drum majors in the past. Karren, however, is the first student to take on the position as a dedicated role.

In many ways, she had the job before she had the title.

Last year, when Band Director Abby Schuelke went on medical leave during marching season, the band had learned only about half of its show. Karren, then a sophomore, simply stepped in.

“Ava, for some reason, just took it upon herself,” Schuelke said. “She just started kind of conducting for the band naturally as they were learning the show that I had written.”

Her classmates noticed.

“What makes her extra special is that she was appointed as drum major by her peers because of the way she stepped into a leadership role while I was on medical leave,” Schuelke said.

Schuelke said that the students reached the same conclusion together.

“And then everyone was like, ‘Well, Ava should just be our drum major,’” Schuelke said. “So at the end of marching band season last year, everyone came to the group decision that Ava's going to be our first ever drum major here because she deserves it.”

Karren's explanation is considerably simpler.

“I think we just needed leadership,” she said. “I was like, ‘I think I can do that.’”

Doing it means considerably more than standing on a podium and waving her arms.

Karren has to know where the beat is, how fast the band should be playing, and what happens when the music changes time signatures. When something gets off track, she has to recognize it and adjust. During practice, she moves between groups, helping musicians with rhythms, counting and notes.

On a football field, the conductor becomes even more important. Musicians spread across the field may hear the music at slightly different times. Crowd noise and wind add another layer.

“They have to have somebody that they can look at because half the time they can't hear the people in front of them while they're playing,” Schuelke said. “The band has to trust her.”

That trust requires musicianship. It also requires something Karren admits she is still learning: how to lead her friends.

“I think I'm way better at the job now,” she said. “I'm definitely more confident in how I lead, and how I talk to the band.”

Giving feedback can still be intimidating. So can having 50 sets of eyes waiting for her direction.

Schuelke sees that as part of the growth.

“I just admire her bravery because it takes a lot of bravery to be that person everyone is looking to,” she said.

Karren's path to the podium wasn't necessarily obvious.

She joined band in sixth grade on clarinet because a friend played. She moved to trumpet in seventh grade and nearly left band altogether after eighth grade. Then she attended a Coal Ridge concert.

“It was the coolest thing ever,” she remembered. “I was like, ‘Wow, that was awesome. I want to stay in band.’”

She stayed.

Karren eventually switched to saxophone, became a section leader, and joined jazz band. Along the way, her interest expanded beyond simply playing an instrument.

“I love learning about music, not just my instrument,” she said. “I like learning how it works.”

Now her growth is creating new opportunities for the entire band.

With Karren conducting, Schuelke can move through the ensemble, play alongside students and give them more individual feedback.

“Ava's on the podium so I can play instruments in the band and walk around and help kids,” Schuelke said. “I've been able to be so much more integrated within the ensemble because of her.”

And Coal Ridge now has a student leadership position that can continue to grow along with the band itself.

For Karren, there is still another year of high school ahead and plenty of time to figure out what kind of drum major she wants to become.

Her goal isn't particularly complicated.

“I hope when people remember that she was an amazing drum major,” Karren said.

For Coal Ridge's first dedicated drum major, that's a strong legacy to leave.