"I auditioned for the drumline for two years and didn't make it either time. Then I came back to audition a third year, which very few people do. I didn't want two years of hard work to go to waste. And over that time, I learned that growth was necessary, but persistence was also key.
"After my third year auditioning, I finally became a part of the drumline. My friends started calling me Rudy. It's self-explanatory: I was accepted during my third attempt. And I love my nickname. It takes something that could be an insecurity and instead makes it something to be proud of."