HMBAN Spotlight: Color Guard Instructor Lori Valenzuela
Lori Valenzuela
Longtime NIU Color Guard instructor Lori Valenzuela, who is retiring at the end of the football season, sat down and answered questions about what led to her role at NIU and what made her time here so memorable.
What first inspired you to become the NIU Huskie Marching Band Color Guard instructor, and how has your vision for the color guard evolved throughout your career?
In early 2006, we moved to Illinois from California as my husband took a new job here in the Midwest. I wasn’t planning on teaching any guard right away, but a co-worker of my husband’s set up an interview with Dr. Bough for the guard instructor position that was open at NIU. I met with Dr. Bough and with several of the previous year’s guard members to see if I was a fit. We discussed logistics and a timeline, and I was offered the job. The NIU guard and the color guard activity have evolved so much over the years! Originally, I just wanted the flags to go around together. Over the years, that’s still my ultimate goal - a CLEAN guard - but with doing more diverse shows and multiple shows a year, we’ve been able to grow and do more complex work and drill. The absolute BEST compliments I get are, “Your guard looks like they are having so much fun and they are so clean!”
How many years have you been the NIU Color Guard instructor?
The 2025 fall season will be my twentieth year teaching the NIU guard. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long! It’s fun to look back over all our guard shirts we have made every year and see the different names. In the last 20 years, NIU has been the only guard I’ve taught. I’ve taught other groups in the Midwest and California prior to moving here, including winning "Best Guard" with Plymouth Educational Park High School at BOA Grand Nationals. Winning is always fun, but the real thrill is making it work on the rehearsal field when it’s 100 degrees on the grass! I still actively judge guard and (General Effect) in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, and Virginia.
Have you noticed a difference in your teaching style or style of color guard halftime choreography you have programmed throughout the years?
Choreography is constantly changing, and we are a college band. Things move fast when learning three shows in four months, sometimes overlapping in the learning process! While we are not a “plug and play” guard with set moves, I tend to write work that is easier when we are moving and learning sets, then expand on the choreography more when we are standing still or put into a feature position on the field. I’ve noticed most of the new incoming members have a better grasp of basic guard work when they come to auditions. That is a really good thing! That means they are getting some quality instruction in high school. Because of that, I’m able to move more quickly in the teaching process.
What is something that makes the NIU Color Guard stand out from other universities' organizations?
One thing that makes us stand out from a literal standpoint is our “Big White Huskie Flags,” our pregame flags. We first debuted them at the Orange Bowl in 2012 and everyone fell in love with them! Those flags had a special Orange Bowl emblem on them to commemorate that game. Those were also sewn flags - each piece was cut out and sewn together. Since that set, we’ve moved on to the standard way flags are made now - digitally printed. Every year, I have to give the speech to the members, “Hold onto these flags with your life! Everyone on this campus would love one of these hanging on their dorm wall.” And this year I hope everything will stand out - we have new guard uniforms that just arrived and everyone is super excited!
What life skills have you seen your students develop through their time on the NIU Color Guard?
One of the biggest things I try to teach my members is about life. I tell them every year that they already know how to go to school. They’ve been doing it for 13 years already! Now you need to learn how to get to class on time without a parent getting you up, making sure you’ve eaten breakfast, packed a lunch, have your water bottle and everything in your backpack, and then drive to school. They now have to learn to do all of that on their own. It’s all about planning and setting yourself up for success.
Resilience is a big one. We like to think college kids have it easy, but sometimes they have to deal with real life issues. My door is always open to listen, talk and offer advice, and direct them to someone who may be able to help them. I’ve always told them that when they walk into my stadium for rehearsal to leave whatever is bothering them at the back gate. It’s not coming in with them and living rent-free in their head. And then after a 2-3 hour rehearsal concentrating on nothing more than what they need to be doing at that moment, if they want to pick up that problem or issue at the gate on the way out, they can. Or they can just leave it there. Sometimes you just need to clear your head by doing something you love with people who will become your lifelong friends.
As you wrap up your final year, what key moments have made this final season particularly meaningful?
20 years is a long time! This year’s incoming freshmen were born in 2007. I hear that year and it always makes me stop in my tracks. They are all younger than my own children now. But no matter how young or old the members are, I’ve enjoyed every single year I’ve been at NIU. I’m excited once again for this coming fall! The guard is at 21 members this year and I look forward to them filling the field. And speaking of filling the field - I’m asking ALL former guard members to come back to participate in Homecoming this year, my last one! And don’t think I won’t work hard at getting you to come back - you know I can be persuasive! You may even hear me in Huskie Stadium as your band announcer at some games. I look forward to watching the NIU Guard continue to fly high in the future!