Allison Pasco is joined on staged by her parents, Joe and Mary.
OSWEGO – And, the beat goes on.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl Presented by American Family Insurance Selection Tour visited Oswego High School on Tuesday (October 10) night to recognize Allison Pasco as a 2018 U.S. Army All-American.
The senior was honored in the theater before her classmates, bandmates, family and friends at the conclusion of band practice.
Allison was officially honored as a 2018 U.S. Army All-American and presented her honorary All-American Marching Band jacket. The audience, including family, friends and members of the Marching Buccaneers gave her a lengthy standing ovation.
“I am so excited. I am so excited to get to work with everyone; just soak up everything I can,” she said. “I can hardly wait for the event.”
Allison is an honor roll student. She plays piccolo with the Oswego High School Marching Buccaneers. And, she is the principal flute player for the OHS wind ensemble, and plays saxophone in the Jazz Band (and marching band).
“The flute is my favorite,” she pointed out.
Last year, she was a member of the New York State School Music Association All-State Band and was selected for All-Eastern Band (a much higher honor).
“We’re very proud that she nominated us for the (American Family Insurance Champion Dream) award,” said her mother, Mary.
Her parents were presented the award during the ceremony.
“It’s a great feeling,” said her father, Joe. “We don’t really do anything special. We’re just a normal family.”
“They’ve always been right by my side. If it’s school work, if it’s a project, an audition, everything. They’ve just been wonderful they’ve always been there,” Allison said. “They’ve supported me in everything.”
“We’re involved in everything she does; she’s always involved us. It’s nice to have a teen-ager that wants you to be there,” Mary said.
Getting The News
“I got an e-mail. But I hadn’t seen the e-mail yet,” Allison told Oswego County Today. “But he (Scott Ciesla, Director of Bands at Oswego High School) texted me and said, ‘Call me as soon as you can. Or, come see me.’ So I had no idea what that meant. I went down and I saw him and he got to break the news to me in person.”
She was “completely overwhelmed, just so excited,” she said.
The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band performs each year at halftime of the nationally-broadcasted U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
By becoming a U.S. Army All-American, Allison is joining an elite group. Only 125 high school marching band members among the millions in the United States are selected.
Band members are chosen not just because they excel musically, but because they are mentally and physically agile, they know the importance of teamwork, and they are able to adapt to challenging situations, similar to U.S. Army Soldiers.
“For my audition I had to send in a video of me marching, a video of me playing and then I had to record a video of me talking about myself and my accomplishments and why I thought that I should be considered for this program,” she explained.
She returned to her former school to record her videos.
“My mom works at Trinity Catholic School and they were on break. I marched around their gym. I was there for four hours before I got a perfect video,” she said.
A normal band practice is around three hours long.
Thanks For The Support
She thanked everyone for supporting her and all the other All-American Band members.
She wouldn’t be where she is today, she said, without the support of many people including her teachers, friends, Band Parents Association, the school board, her bandmates and many others.
She recognized her family for its support in whatever she did.
“This is a dream come true. I am so proud and honored to be able to represent Oswego High School,” she said.
“For me, personally, this is one of the highlights of the year,” Ciesla said. “Allison is the perfect student to represent our community. It’s easy to see that she is extremely talented. But, the best part is she is one of the hardest working students that I know. It is this attribute that sets her apart from the rest. My favorite part of working with Allison is that she is humble and kind. As an educator, I am inspired by students who achieve something of this nature.”
He added that he can only imagine the great sense of pride that her family feels.
“I am quite certain that (Allison’s) success is no accident. It is obviously the result of exceptional parenting,” he said. “It’s amazing to see our program recognized on a national stage. We couldn’t do that without the support of our district, our superintendent, our board of education – everyone. It’s incredible.”
Marching band is like a family and he recognized the band staff for helping make accomplishments like Allison’s a reality.
Oswego has produced 16 All-Americans since the program was introduced in 2007-08.
OHS Band Students picked for Army All-American Band:
• In 2007, Adam Dristle, Amanda Donovan and Heather Buske were picked to take part in 2008’s game.
• Chelsea Bartlett in 2008.
• Kristen Bartholomew in 2009.
• Jacqueline Hondro and Thomas James in 2010.
• Gina Bartholomew and Jeffrey Murray in 2011.
• Joseph Bertonneau in 2012.
• Cassandra Hondro and Emily King in 2013.
• Kylie Pelkey, color guard in 2014.
• Ana Alcasid in 2015.
• No Selection in 2016.
• Allison Pasco in 2017.
The 2018 U.S. Army All-American Bowl Presented by American Family Insurance will air on Saturday, January 6, 2018, from the Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, at noon CST live on NBC
For 18 years, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl has been the nation’s premier high school all-star event and football game, serving as the preeminent launching pad for America’s future college and NFL stars.
Odell Beckham Jr., Andrew Luck, Eric Berry, Patrick Peterson, Tim Tebow and Sam Darnold each made their national debuts as U.S. Army All-Americans.
A total of 351 U.S. Army All-American alumni have been selected in NFL drafts. Last year’s Bowl drew an all-time record crowd of 40,568 to the Alamodome.
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl presented by American Family Insurance is owned and produced by All American Games, a New Jersey-based sports marketing and event management company.
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Nice job