The Penn State Blue Band announced on Thursday that its new drum major for the 2025-26 school year will be Ellie Sheehan, the first woman chosen for the position in the band's 126-year history.
Sheehan, a fifth-year student studying marketing, is from Hollidaysburg, Pa. in Blair County about an hour south of Penn State University Park.
"I remember when I was like, 8 years old, going to my first Penn State game, and watching the drum major do the flip, and the band spell out 'PSU’ and ‘Lions,’" Sheehan said. "I was like, ‘I want to be a part of that.’ I was sitting there, probably just learned how to play the flute, and I was like, ‘That is my dream, that is my goal.’”
Sheehan joined the Blue Band’s piccolo section during her freshman year. She said she wanted to be drum major to serve the organization she’s so passionate about.
“I saw this as an opportunity to do that at the highest degree," Sheehan said. "And obviously, it’s going to be really fun and exciting to be able to perform the flip on the field, and also just be a kind of spokesperson and liaison for the rest of the band, and the Penn State community.”
The Blue Band’s drum major leads the band through warmups and performances. And it’s been a tradition since 1977 for the Blue Band drum major to do a front flip as the band enters the field at home football games.
Sheehan had to show she could do the flip as part of the audition process this past spring, and said she’d been practicing since the fall.
“There were two videos that we had to submit, and the first one was the flip, with the run and strut-run into the flip, three times in a row,” Sheehan said. “And you could take like, a minute or two break in between. And then the second video was conducting two different pieces … there was also an interview process after that too.”
Sheehan says music’s always been a big part of her life, and being the Blue Band’s drum major is a dream come true.
“And then you add the whole factor in of becoming the first female (drum major), and that just makes it even more special," Sheehan said. “But, honestly, for me, what’s most important is just giving to the band and being able to support them in any way that I can.”
The Penn State Blue Band will have its first performance with Ellie Sheehan as drum major at the home opener football game against the University of Nevada on Aug. 30.
