By CURT HARLER
Justin Senzer, a third-year member of the Blue Band, will lead the 125th edition of the Penn State Blue Band onto the field at halftime this year. His path to the Blue Band, however, was a bit unusual. He did not march with his high school band until his senior year. But his twin brother Noah marched all four years!
On football Saturdays, the Nittany Lion and the Blue Band Drum Major electrify the crowd. Here the Lion poses with Justin Senzer in his “other” campus uniform.
In fact, Justin saw himself as a baseball player in high school. He loves the sport but knew he probably would not play at the college level. He got involved in the Blue Band and, as he says, “fell in love with it.”
Yes, he tells ABBA, he definitely will do the flip! No, he is not a gymnast. Pointing to his baseball career he says, “But I am athletic.”
Senzer played trumpet for the Blue Band before picking up the mace. But the drum major position has long been on his to-do list. “I wanted to pursue drum major. It was a goal I set for myself…even if I get only one year.”
Off the field, Justin is an economics major from Marietta, Georgia. In addition to his academic studies and Blue Band commitment, he is in US Navy ROTC.
Justin Senzer’s career goal is Navy Aviation. He spent part of this summer in Florida attached to a helicopter squadron.
About the time you read this, Senzer will be leaving Florida where he was with a helicopter squadron as part of his Naval aviation track. He will get one day at home and then will head to Drum Major Camp in Illinois.
One might wonder how a baseball player from Georgia becomes the drum major at Penn State. Why Penn State at all? It explains a lot to know his father Andrew is a Penn State alum, class of 1991. However, Andrew was not in the Blue Band.
For Justin, the road to drum major started in January 2025. He got a major boost from a good friend, Chris, who also is in Navy ROTC with him and is heavily into gymnastics.
There are open sessions for non-varsity gymnastics and 18 months ago Justin started attending three or four times a week. After multiple intense practice sessions, he was landing his flips in the gym. By April, he was able to execute flips regularly on grass. Yes, it’s a different thing on the grass.
Given the range of responsibilities and activities Senzer has taken on, it is obvious that he is driven. “I have a lot of energy,” he acknowledges. “I’m pretty energetic myself and I feed off other peoples’ energy.”
No doubt the roar of 100,000 fans will top his tank. “I’m looking forward to it. I can’t wait!” he says. He feels his time as Drum Major will be a success if he can honor the drum majors who preceded him and pass a worthy legacy on to those who follow.
One of Justin Senzer’s fond memories is hanging with members of the West Virginia University band. An advantage of being in the Blue Band is meeting others with similar interests.
