While majority of the Benet students left for summer break to begin on their individual adventures, Benet Academy’s band headed down to Orlando, Fla. for an 8 days/7 nights’ group getaway. Spending two days at Universal Studios, and the rest of their time at Walt Disney World, the band played in front of Disney crowds and in Disney’s Main Street Parade, delighting audiences of all ages.

As typical for Florida, it was quite hot and humid out. Sophomore Adeline Collins pointed out how members of the band had to “be accountable for each other to make sure everyone was safe in the heat.” Marching proved to be especially grueling, as mentioned by junior Sam Gamez because “it was hot, and we were wearing the full uniform.” All in all, the band members had quite a bit of fun with their friends since there were only a few performances to play. Then everyone was allowed to go off and do what they wished as long as they checked in with faculty chaperones (Mr. Rich Alifantis, Ms. Meagan Carlevato, Ms. Lauren Condon, and Mr. Brian Wand) every morning and every evening.

While in Disney, students stayed at the Pop Century resort and shared rooms with their friends. However, the trip was very exhausting. “We would wake up around 7 in the morning and went to the parks all day until 9 or 10 at night. It was definitely a lot of walking in 100-degree heat.” Junior Bethany Schorr pointed out, but she and her friends were happy to find that restaurants at Disney provided free cups of water when asked.

As their trip came to a close, the Benet band discovered tragedy occurred in the same city just 20 minutes away from Disney World. A local nightclub called The Orlando Pulse was the scene of a mass shooting. A lone man shot and killed 49 people and injured another 53. It was also rumored that Disney was one of the gunman’s potential targets. Quite a few students were nervous from the attack so close while some noted the existence of the attack but tried not to let it ruin their trip. Other students, like Collins, talked about it and tried to remain calm with their emotions in tact: “I feel like we spent more time discussing it, how we felt, and talking about that as a modern issue of violence and discrimination rather than being afraid… we felt better knowing we were in an environment filled with people we knew we could turn to for support and to vent our frustrations and concerns.” From the day of the shooting and days to follow until the band left, some students claimed to notice that the security was either heightened or, like Gamez, noticed very little change in security.

The Pulse shooting was a dark cloud on their trip but the Florida sunshine still broke through. Without a doubt the responses from the band members about the trip are always positive. For Gamez, marching was the favorite part of his trip, “It was all worth it… we made so many people happy and gave a lot of children good memories.” While Schorr loved the trip, she had a few suggestions, “I would go on it again only if the trip was a bit shorter. Being in Florida weather and walking around all day for 8 days straight is extremely tiring.” Lastly, Collins seemed to be the most impacted by the experience she’d been through, “I got to spend wonderful time with my friends and have unique adventures in music that’ll be with me for the rest of my life. How many people can say they marched in the Disney’s Main Street Parade, taken a masterclass in backstage Disney or performed at Universal? It was a wonderful trip… definitely something I won’t forget.”