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Oct 15, 2015
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By Karl Vogel
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Looking back on his childhood, Austin Moran could see the signs that he would become an engineer.
He loved building things with Legos and K’Nex toys in his family’s living room.
“Amusement parks and all kinds of monstrosities,” the junior civil engineering major said with a smile.
And, he excelled in math and science classes.
“I liked structures and wanted to do something that I thought would be worthwhile for the greater good of humanity,” Moran said. “That screamed engineering.”
But Moran also picked up his family’s passion for Husker football and a love of music that is helping to bring his engineering future into focus.
“I grew up living for fall Saturdays and I still do. I can’t wait for the season to start up,” Moran said. “My family always just loved the atmosphere at Memorial Stadium.
“I remember the first game I attended. I was in middle school and I barely watched the game. We sat on the west side of the stadium and I watched from across the field as the marching band played tunes from the stands. I thought that was the coolest thing ever,” Moran said. “I wanted to be the guy in the formation the Huskers ran through, and now I am.”
Moran is now the alto saxophone section leader in a band that counts 300 or so UNL students as members. At least 41 of them, about 12 percent, are engineering majors. Those figures are no surprise for Moran, who sees the demands of both endeavors as complementary.
“I think they go hand in hand because of the meticulousness and attention to detail that both require,” Moran said. “There’s a definite discipline you need to have to march a field show, but also to approach any dynamics or engineering problem. Thinking that way, it’s no real surprise that there are a lot of engineering majors or other scientific majors in the band.”
Even though being part of a nationally renowned marching band requires a large investment of time, Moran said it was learning to balance his studies and extracurricular activities at UNL has helped him become a better engineering student.
“Marching band, more than any other organization I’ve been involved in on campus, has done tremendous amounts for me in learning to budget my time and be more organized,” Moran said. “Instead of just getting stressed out about this huge mountain of work in front of me, I’ve learned to attack it in chunks.
“I always have been a good, hard worker, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve found some success in engineering and music, moreso than being naturally gifted. I’ve learned that learning how to work is half the battle.”
ENGINEERING MAJORS IN THE CORNHUSKER MARCHING BAND
Samuel Baird, mechanical engineering, freshman, tenor saxophone
John Bowley, mechanical engineering, sophomore, tuba
Zachary Boyer, mechanical engineering, senior, percussion
Elizabeth Drey, chemical engineering, freshman, piccolo
César Echevarría Méndez, electrical engineering, sophomore, alto saxophone
Elijah Elmshaeuser, mechanical engineering, freshman, trumpet
Kaleb Ethington, mechanical engineering, freshman, alto saxophone
Adam Fitzgibbon, computer engineering, sophomore, trombone
William Fleener, computer engineering, freshman, tuba
Brenden Gatzemeyer, electrical engineering, junior, trumpet
Nathan Gatzemeyer, engineering, freshman, alto saxophone
Colleen Hacker, mechanical engineering, sophomore, piccolo
Benjamin Hintz, biological systems engineering, sophomore, trombone
Kyle Hoppner, chemical engineering, junior, tuba
Rebecca Horzewski, computer engineering, junior, trumpet
Amanda Houston, electrical engineering, sophomore, trumpet
Matthew Kruger, mechanical engineering, junior, trombone
Patrick Luddy, computer engineering, senior, drum major
Austin Moran, civil engineering, junior, alto saxophone
Sam Murray, electrical engineering, senior, tenor saxophone
Kenneth Nance, engineering, freshman, trumpet
Andrew Nelson, electrical engineering, senior, trumpet
Adam Oltman, mechanical engineering, sophomore, tuba
Sydney Paulak, civil engineering, freshman, alto saxophone
Meaghan Pecha, engineering, freshman, trumpet
Taylor Price, mechanical engineering, freshman, trumpet
Brandon Purintun, civil engineering, senior, trumpet
Aaron Ratigan, mechanical engineering, senior, trombone
Jordan Rosenbohm, mechanical engineering, junior, alto saxophone
Shane Rothchild, mechanical engineering, junior, trombone
Grant Sernett, mechanical engineering, sophomore, percussion
Mitchell Snyder, computer engineering, senior, baritone
Jonathan Temple, mechanical engineering, freshman, percussion
Andrew Thomas, mechanical engineering, sophomore, tuba
Eric Ullman, mechanical engineering, freshman, trumpet
Derek Vogel, computer engineering, sophomore, trumpet
Emily Wagner, electrical engineering, freshman, percussion
Lisa Ward, engineering, freshman, trombone
Dean Whitfield, civil engineering, senior, trombone
David Wilson, chemical engineering, sophomore, trumpet
Jennifer Wynn, agricultural engineering, freshman, tuba
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