As the last beat hits the drums, the paintbrush finishes one last stroke, and the pungent smell of nail polish all work as a timeline, encapsulating senior Kenzie Doebele’s last year. It also signals that more opportunities are to come as her last year at Arvada West High School comes to an end.
Doebele, a senior, has performed a variety of performing and visual arts at A-West, creating a community where everyone can lean on each other. She’s performed in marching band, theatre, and commits to painting as a hobby.
Marching Band
Doebele is in the marching band throughout her high school experience, starting with playing the flute her freshman year and performing “Cause and Effect.” Continuing the flute as a second in command, a section leader her junior year, and performing “A Star’s End and Chess: the Art of Stragglers.” Senior year, Doebele was the drum major performing “City of Lights.”
Always happy to take on new challenges, such as being a drum major. Having the ability to conduct the band isn’t an easy feat; drum majors have to have a higher level of musicianship, the ability to listen to the band and keep their hands in time so that those who watch them, both judges and audience, see the performance look unified as they play their instruments together.
Dean Moore, marching director and band teacher, compares what it’s like to be a drum major, explains, “So there, the lead member of the band if you think of it like the captain of the ship.”
Doebele rose up to the role of being drum major. Moore explains why he chose Doebele to be in this role: “Kenzie was a good musician, adapted to the change in circumstances, and carried the respect of the rest of the band, where if she was the one to stand in front of the band and say Hey, you need to do this they would listen.”
She was the biggest motivator for herself. She had support from the band, and being supported feels empowering. Being able to show up and support others is a strong feeling for many, and Doebele adds, “I just wanted to be like the support for other people that I had. And like I wanted to take care of a band that took care of me.”
Being on stage performing in front of everyone can be exciting, yet challenging, and Doebele recalls how it felt to be on the platform for the first time as drum major, “The first time I did it officially as drum major was pretty cool. It was a little nerve-racking because I had so many expectations placed on me from just like in previous years, from people who expecting me to be drum major. But it was cool and like, I don’t know, it was pretty, I was pretty hyped.”
Theatre Arts
Theatre was another performance for Doebele, who has been a part of theatre since her freshman year, playing both ensemble roles and crew. Doebele was a part of “Bright Star” (freshman year), “Something Rotten” (sophomore year), and her most recent “Sweeney Todd” (junior). Doebele comments on her favorite musical, in which she was on crew a part of hair, makeup, and costume, “Something Rotten” was my favorite musical cause I got to make Shakespeare’s entire jacket and her sleeves came on and off, and it was a leather jacket. It was insane.”
Painting
From one activity to another, Doebele is all for nothing, exploring different activities and ideas. She dabbles in painting as her hobby, describing her most recent piece: “Every year I try to do something a little different. This year I did like a kind of darker scene with just like a cat, and it was a Halloween theme. Darker is the wrong word, eerie, I guess.”
Though that was just the start for Doebele’s creativity, she’s currently in the Warren tech program, Cosmetology: Nail Technology, learning the ins and outs of becoming a nail technician.
She talks about how she will continue her studies at Warren Tech, “My plan is to continue at Warren Tech and get my esthetician [sic] in nail license, and then after that, go work in a salon for the rest of my life.”
Doebele, as her senior year continues, wishes for the upcoming seniors, “Don’t let senioritis get you, cause it’ll get you good. And also, senior year is fun; let yourself enjoy senior year because it’s your last one.”
