Picture from Torrey Purvey II
Just two years ago, Van Dyke Atienza played the trumpet for the first time. Now his name is in the history books as the first Asian drum major for the Langston University Marching Pride Band.
“Putting on the uniform for the first time felt surreal and it let me know I made it, I am a drum major,” Atienza said.
Atienza is a sophomore computer science major and a McCabe Scholar at Langston University. He has always found a way to lead and support the band. “Seeing my drum major from Douglass High School, Anthony Henry, lead the band made me want to do the same thing.” Since then, Atienza wanted to lead and be in front of a band program.
Atienza is originally from Quezon City, Manila, in the Philippines, in Southeast Asia by the Pacific Ocean. Atienza and his family moved to the United States back in January 2022, during the last moments of the COVID-19 pandemic. He explained how different the Philippines was compared to the U.S. during that time.
“Everyone back in the Philippines still wore masks and face shields. But from the moment I got here, no one was doing that. It was automatically a culture shock.”
He went on to explain how moving was a big jump for him. “I always knew how to speak English, but this was my first time being around people that use English as their main language … You have to get used to how they talk and what they mean to say.”
Van Dyke Atienza and his family
Back in 2018, Atienza’s mother got a job offer to work at the OU hospital. The company sponsored them, and it took 4 years for them to move to the U.S. Atienza’s mom had to finish her contract at her job before they could move. When she was about to finish her contract, their family had to take immunization shots, get interviewed, and fill out paperwork before they could enter the U.S.
“It was a hard and a long process because you are leaving everything you ever known behind. Your friends, family, places you used to go are now gone. A lot of people don’t know how that feels.”
Atienza talked about how the first couple of months were depressing for him. “I got homesick, and I didn’t know anyone from here, and it was like starting fresh.”
His mom always had a conversation with him about moving to the U.S.
“She would always be like, we’re moving to the U.S. in a couple of years, so be ready. I didn’t know if she was joking or not until we spent all of 2021 packing.”
Atienza also said, “I feel like I’ve been here longer than I’ve been in the Philippines because everything happened so fast.”
Atienza’s family had to figure out which school he could go to, and he ended up going to Douglass High School. There, he became one of the valedictorians and found his love for marching band.
Picture from Torrey Purvey II
When asked how to become a drum major, Atienza said, “You have to be in band and be a leader. You also have to help band members. Not everyone is going to like you, but you have to do what you have to do to make the band better.”
Atienza also talked about how he uses his leadership skills in the classroom.
“Any collaborative work I had to do in school here or in the Philippines, I always gave ideas and helped bring whatever group I was a part of together.”
Last semester in the spring, Prof. Gordon announced his name as a drum major. “I was filled with joy because I know how much work I had put in. It’s that feeling of yes my work actually paid off.”
When asked if he was nervous before the homecoming performance, he said, “Yes, I was. Being in front of that crowd representing the band was very nerve-racking, but once I stepped on that field, it all went away.”
Atienza is proud of where he came from and what he is doing now. He feels his coming to the United States was a blessing. One of his goals in life is to bring the Langston University Marching Pride Band to the Philippines.
“Parades are a big deal in the Philippines, and I want to bring a HBCU band like Langston there for a parade. The people would love that because so many of them have never seen that before.”
Picture from Torrey Purvey II
You can follow the Langston Drum Majors here
Anthony Henry
Anthony Henry is a staff reporter for the Langston University Gazette. He is also a sophomore broadcast journalism major. He covers all topics for the gazette and he feels it is very important that everyone’s stories and experiences gets told. He believes that what he does matters because journalism is the only profession mentioned in the first amendment. He believes in freedom of the press and storytelling. Henry is in the band where he is a drum major and saxophone player. He can be reached at anthony.c.henry@langston.edu
