A lifelong dream led a 66-year-old tuba player to return to school and make it onto the LSU Tiger Marching Band. Steve Hartman has the story in "On the Road."

Baton Rouge

Kent Broussard, a 66-year-old retired accountant from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has realized his childhood ambition of joining the Louisiana State University (LSU) marching band. After returning to school and relearning the tuba, Broussard underwent a competitive audition process and was selected to join the band, making him the oldest member by 41 years.

Broussard's journey involved rigorous preparation and determination, as he received no special treatment during auditions. His achievement highlights the value of pursuing goals regardless of age and stepping outside one's comfort zone.

66-year-old achieves dream of making the LSU marching band

Now, here's something you don't see every day or any day, for that matter, unless you live in this formerly quiet neighborhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where for the past year, 66 year old Kent Broussard has been marching toward a dream, a dream he's had ever since he was a little kid when he first saw the Louisiana State University marching band. Someday he'd play tuba for them, he thought. And that day never came. It did not. And at some point you get too old. You've got a job, you've got a family. Exactly right. You're not going to go play for the LSU band. No, no, I wasn't going to do that. I wasn't going to play for the LSU band when I was 50. But 66, he thought, maybe at least that's what he told his wife, Cheryl. And at first I was like, do they have like a senior band? I mean, I wasn't sure what he was exactly talking about. And it was the real, real band. And so this year, this retired accountant went back to school just in the hopes of making the band. He did play tuba as a kid, but had completely forgotten. So he relearned and trained hard for what was to be a very competitive audition process. Band director Simon Haluiko. You didn't cut him any slack. He doesn't get any breaks for being a senior citizen. No, there are no breaks when you come here. And we follow that process to get the best possible group we can. Which is why Kent was never really expecting to make the cut and why he was this excited when he did. Kent is now the oldest person in the band by 41 years. His first game is tomorrow, and he hopes his little dot on the field will punctuate the importance of high stepping out of your comfort zone. Try it. The only thing you can do is fail. Your only failure is not trying. And your only risk annoying the entire neighborhood. Steve Hartman on the road in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

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