Katrina Panovich is a sixth-year veteran of the Colts. This is her fifth year playing baritone horn after starting her drum corps career playing mellophone. Katrina joined the corps in 2002, the year after Colts last made the Division I World Championship Finals. She says that it would be exciting to be in the Finals this year at Rose Bowl Stadium and it's even more exciting to see how well the corps has been doing this year. I've learned through the Colts to keep my eye on the larger goal, to move forward through the rough patches. "It's nice to feel part of a good group," said Panovich. "We joke on the field that it's more fun to be 'in the game' standing in the horn arc and hearing the sound for which we've worked so hard ... performing a show that is showing the dividends of our work." Much of the Colts' success this season, Panovich said, is a result of the hard work and maturity that the corps' members have exhibited on and off the football field. Whether a six-year veteran like herself, or a first-year rookie, all members are reaching for perfection in their performances. "On the field, there is a sense of urgency. With an extensive travel schedule, we have less rehearsal time, however, we want to go far with our program. But with a sense of urgency, there's also a sense of accomplishment. People seem to perform better when they know what they're doing is getting recognized."

Katrina Panovich
Panovich is a computer major at Indiana University and says that through her drum corps experience, she's learned a lot about working solidly to get better at something. "The drum corps experience has helped me with school and particularly computer programming. With computer programming, it's easy to get caught up in the little stuff—as in drum corps—and not see the end. I've learned through the Colts to keep my eye on the larger goal, to move forward through the rough patches. "I've also learned to manage my time. That's important because as I know from my school work, debugging computer code takes way longer than writing it. And debugging code is like debugging a show. You start small and work on little things and sometimes one little thing will take huge chunks of time. But it's really rewarding in the end, even if you get just a little bit better, it makes a big difference in the long run."