by Alex Springer, Jersey Surf Media Staff Member

For the 2018 season, three international students received performer contracts with the Jersey Surf: a baritone player from China and two color guard members from Canada.

As  the member corps of Drum Corps International provide opportunities to students from a variety of musical and cultural backgrounds. This season, Jersey Surf further embraced that philosophy by welcoming three students into the corps from beyond the borders of the United States. Jun Sun, Katie Dycke and Julie Gusek joined other Chinese and Canadian countrymen who preceded them, as well as former Surf performers from France, Puerto Rico and the Netherlands

In his native city of Shanghai, Jun Sun immersed himself in music since the age of six. Since then, Sun played violin in the Shanghai Student Orchestra in 2010 and 2011 and was first violin in his high school’s symphony orchestra. His first experience with the marching arts occurred during his exchange program at North Carolina State University, where he played cymbals.

“My friend in the marching band showed me a DCI video; I thought it was super awesome. Then I started to watch a lot of DCI shows on the internet,” Sun recalled. “I heard about Jersey Surf from Chris Gow, a Cadets alumnus and former Jersey Surf Visual Caption Head, who is now working in Shanghai.”

One summer’s day in July, Sun made his way from Shanghai to the state of New Jersey over the course of 28 hours to perform with a world class drum and bugle corps. This was merely the beginning of his journey.

“The first ten days were pretty hard, because [the corps] almost had the full show ready, and in visual block they usually ran [rehearsal] in chunks, which was pretty hard for me to figure out my dot,” said Sun. “For days I could only watch them run through or remove myself from the form.”

Halfway around the world from China, lives Katie Dycke in Alberta, Canada. She currently spins with the group, The Ambassadors, with past experiences performing for Capital City Regiment and Red Deer Royals. 2018 marks her fourth year of participating in the marching arts.

“When [The Ambassadors] asked if I wanted a scholarship to perform internationally, I took it right away, knowing it was going to be an amazing experience,” said Dycke.

Julie Gusek also resides in Alberta and spent 12 years performing in color guard. She also joined a drumline back home and is in her sixth year performing with them. Needless to say, the marching arts are an important part of Gusek’s life.

“DCI, I’ve known about since I was a little kid, but Jersey Surf, I just found out about this year,” said Gusek.

Though from the same Canadian province, the young women were not acquainted with one another. But in early July, the two spent almost an entire day flying on three different planes to arrive in New Jersey. Their 18-hour trip was irrelevant in comparison to what the corps had in store for them.

Dycke and Gusek experienced a similar situation to Sun in arriving later in the season, but fellow Surfers were prepared to help. They also had each other, spending extra time before bed and after meals learning and perfecting their routine together. Quite often, other guard members would join in their pseudo-rehearsals.

“Coming in part way through the season was hard because everyone already knew their show and just needed to be cleaned as to where we had to learn something entirely new,” expressed Gusek.

“But with everyone’s help, it was achievable,” Dycke added.

Along with the physical challenges of entering later in the season, there were social challenges. Many of Surf’s members know each other from as early as November and formed close bonds with one another. However, corps’ members opened their arms to welcome the new recruits.

“It is like a family; I have so many friends here that eat, sleep, sweat, run, stand and perform with me,” mentioned Sun. “Friendship and thousands of hours of good memories.”

Each student found their niche within the corps. You can see them interacting and conversing with other members of the corps, including members of different sections. They even have corps jobs and love giving back. Staff members completely understood the situation and gave just the right amount of push to get them on the field.

“These people have seen me through my best times and my worst,” said Dycke. “They are some of the most caring people I’ve ever met. There isn’t one member I’ve talked to that hasn’t been more than willing to listen to me.”

All three members are now fully in the show and attribute much of their success to Surf’s mantra, Share The Love.

“Share The Love was not a phrase I understood at first.” recalled Dycke. “I have since realized that sharing the love is so important in order to really feel the loving family environment.”

Jersey Surf’s philosophy centers around having a positive attitude and always aiming for one’s best self. Every individual is invested in the corps. Whether a volunteer or member, everyone takes and gives a share of the love.

“I’m not the kind of person who can just run into every show full of confidence, but the way I have been treated here really helped me step out of my comfort zone and become an even better performer than I was to begin with,” said Dycke.

“Share The Love means believing in something no matter what other people say and impact the people around you positively,” Sun agreed. “I no longer think difficult things are difficult; they are just inconvenient to me. Every minute is a gift for me to get better.”

As written on the Jersey Surf website, drum corps is about “learning, coping and growing.” Reaching out to those in need and learning to grow individually are extremely valuable to the success of the corps.

“Jersey Surf as a whole has shown me that no matter where you’re from, you will always be welcomed and brought in and treated the same, even with people all over the USA,” said Gusek. “We are all treated as family.”

When recalling their favorite part of Surf’s show, each had a different answer.

“This is definitely my favorite show that I’ve spun in,” said Dycke. “Performing in the ‘red’ movement where everyone is angry, and all the tension builds is the best for me.”

“My favorite movement would probably be yellow,” added Gusek.

“I think it’s well designed,” said Sun. “There are so many details in uniform, drill, and visuals that have a connection with the theme, which is fantastic!”

No matter their opinions about the show, each of these members perform at their highest caliber to participate with the organization. Wherever you’re from, if you put out your best, someone is going to notice, and noticed they were!

“Jersey Surf has helped me grow in many ways with my color guard skills and my communication skills overall,” said Dycke. “Going home, I will now understand more about the activity and just how much heart goes into it.”

As the season comes to a close, members of all corps prepare to return home. Some are childhood best friends or college roommates. Others will not see their found family until next drum corps season. A select few must work significantly harder to return to the activity.

“Knowing that people are seeing me at my best really gets me motivated to get even better,” said Dycke. “This show has motivated me in more ways than ever before, and I’m excited to hopefully spin again next year.”