The band director at a high school in Oklahoma City goes above and beyond to make sure a wheelchair-bound student can be in the marching band. Casey Hubbard always dreamed he would follow in his brother’s footsteps and be in marching band when he got to high school. But Casey was born with spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair, so he thought being in the marching band would remain just that: a dream.
But Southmoore High School band director Adam Mewhorter knew Casey had been playing trumpet since the seventh grade and was committed to giving all his students a chance to experience marching in the band like he had when he was in school, so he asked Casey, “What do you want to do for high school?” Casey told Mewhorter he wanted to be on the field with the marching band, so that’s what they set out to make happen.
Not satisfied just to let Casey be out on the field and determined to make him a full participant in the marching band, Mewhorter volunteered to be the person to push Casey in his chair through the band’s marching routines. It took some adjustment to work Casey into the program, but after two years at it, now they never have a number where he isn’t out on the field in the middle of it all. Casey loves being in the marching band and is looking forward to the next two years of it and Mewhorter is getting to relive his glory days on the field while also showing other teachers across the country what it means to really show up for your students.
Source: Good Morning America
Photo: Getty Images