Student Spotlight: Christian Nunez, drum major #59

After being in the band for the historic 15-0 Michigan football season, Christian Nunez made the decision to audition for drum major one last time. He had gone for the position many times, throughout high school and college, without much luck. But then, sitting in a crowded Revelli hall on the evening of April 20, they announced the new drum major. Christian had got the position.

"They said my name, and I just stood there," Nunez said. "This was my fourth time applying for the position. My name and drum major just never went together, until then. I'm so honored that my friends see me in that capacity and that they trust me to carry on this legacy. I want to help take this band to new heights."

Nunez first started considering the possibility of drum major in eighth grade, when a Grosse Ile alumnus, Matt Cloutier, visited the band to talk about his role as the 52nd drum major of the Michigan Marching Band. But that's not all: during his senior year of high school, Nunez got to meet another MMB drum major. 

"I traveled to the Citrus Bowl with my family," Nunez said. "Before the game, I was walking around the concourse with my sister and dad, waiting for the band to take the field. My dad sees Kelly Bertoni and encourages me to go talk to her. At first, I told him, 'She's probably really busy, I don't want to bother her.' So, my dad gives me two options: I'm either going to go talk to her on my own, or he's going to go talk to her first and point at me and then I'm going to go talk to her. So I went over to her to ask about the band. She is such an amazing person. She asked where I go to school, what instrument I play. It may have been a typical interaction for her, but for me it was a huge deal. From then on, I not only wanted to be in the MMB, I wanted to be drum major. Their role is to inspire the band and community at large."
Another vital role model was drum major 56, Walter Aguillar. 

"The first time I applied to be drum major was after my first year marching in the band," Nunez said. "I remember my first time showing up to a training session led by the drum major at the time, Walter. I showed up late. At the session, there was Rachel—a future drum major, Lexi—a finalist, and Blake—another future drum major. Blake, Rachel, and Lexi all knew what they were doing, and I didn't. Walter saw this, and he came up to me, and he let me use his baton to practice twirling, and he practiced with a regular baton. His baton has all the names of the 2020 senior class engraved on it… and I kept dropping it everywhere. But I thought to myself, being drum major is something I really want to do. Even though I was initially embarrassed, I kept at it. Walter showed me all these fundamentals. I did not end up getting past the interview phase that year, but I kept going at it. I got my own baton and practiced twirling and marching. The next year, I was a finalist. And I didn't get it. I was so close. Since I'm doing SUGS (Sequential Undergraduate-Graduate Studies), I had one more year to go for it. I really thought about whether I should audition again. I knew that rising seniors would be going for it, and it might be their last year too. I talked to some people, including some of the rising seniors, and realized I had a lot of support."

The long training process was difficult at times, but the Michigan Band community offered their support.

"I'm such a critical person towards myself," Nunez said. "I dropped my baton so many different times—I still do. For any activity, if you want to be good at it, you should be willing to make mistakes, be willing to fail. The Michigan band is an ensemble that represents Michigan at many game day events, but on a deeper and more personal level, the MMB is a special community that supports one another and encourages each other to be better. That's something that is rare in many communities. You will become a better person, a better musician, a better marcher. That is a really great experience. I don't think as human beings we can ask for much more than that."

As a long time Michigan fan, Nunez understood the significance of The Game. Surrounded in a snowy wonderland, he watched Michigan reign victorious over Ohio State, a memory he would get to share with his family and the band.

"One of my favorite memories was the first time we beat Ohio State in the Big House in 2021," Nunez said. "I remember running out of the tunnel and hearing the crowd roar, and then I remember going off the field, and nothing else. I also loved preparing for the September 11 memorial show and laying on the turf with all the lights and looking up at the sky during the night rehearsals. Sharing those memories with the alto section is something I will always remember."

Nunez is a first-year graduate student in the Sequential Undergraduate-Graduate Studies (SUGS) program, which seeks to boost the number of engineering students pursuing graduate studies by introducing graduate courses midway through a student's undergraduate studies, so that students can count the graduate elective courses towards their undergraduate and graduate degrees. Nunez, in particular, is studying Mechanical Engineering. 

"This summer, I am interning for Ford Motor Company," Nunez said. "I am working on improving the current model for electric car batteries. I am helping develop a split pack architecture for the batteries to allow Ford electric vehicles to charge on their local charging networks. We also do a lot of crash testing. When you crash a vehicle, you get a ton of data about the car, so I help streamline this information to engineers for future designs that allow vehicles to be safer for consumers."

Nunez's father is a mechanical engineer who worked for Ford for about 32 years. Throughout his childhood, Nunez's father would bring home parts of the machines he worked on.

"Just seeing his work every day really rubbed off on me and made me want to be a mechanical engineer," Nunez said. "I also just like making things that brighten people's day. I love understanding the world around me and shaping a better world for the community around me. It's so cool I get to do everything with the band while working on my passions in engineering.I feel like I never have to work a day in my life because I love what I do."

From a student in a marching band of about 85 members in Grosse Ile, Nunez is ready to lead the 400-member Michigan band in the 2024-2025 season.