Izzy Melvin
“The second I stepped on the grounds here, I knew this is where I wanted to be. My mom looked at me after the orientation, and she said, ‘This is where you’re going to go, I already see it in your face.”
Major: Graphic Design
Hometown: Jackson, Michigan
Involvement: Baton Twirler for the Governor's Own Marching Band
The way Izzy Melvin describes it, time slows down on the football field.
“You find this part of yourself, and you become one with the baton – everything is silent when you’re on the field – it has always been me and my baton, it becomes an extension of yourself,” she said.
You might know Melvin. She’s the one who twirls fire during halftime at Austin Peay home football games.
“When I’m on the field, I’m usually really nervous before the start, then I hear my mom and my coach in my head,” she added.
“I hear them say, ‘Trust in your training,’ and I think, ‘If I mess up this time, it’s not like I can’t come out and prove myself the next time.
“Failure is always something we have to learn from.”
As her high school days wound to a close, Melvin toured universities across the South. Her parents suggested she find a college with a strong graphic design and animation program.
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“The second I stepped on the grounds here, I knew this is where I wanted to be,” Melvin said. “For me, it was a done deal, and I hadn’t even met with Mr. (John) Schnettler,” Austin Peay’s director of athletic bands.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better band director,” Melvin said. “He’s so outgoing. He’s so awesome.”
A key Austin Peay hire in 2015 also clinched the deal for Melvin. That’s when Austin Peay hired Scott Raymond, former animator for DreamWorks Animation, as assistant professor in animation.
“You find this part of yourself, and you become one with the baton – everything is silent when you’re on the field – it has always been me and my baton, it becomes an extension of yourself,” she said.
