Student: Madison Howlett

If you were to describe East Carolina University senior Madison Howlett in one word, it would be driven. A fitting description for a pre-med student who balances life as a drum major, volunteer doula, library employee, honor society president and more.

During her campus tour, Howlett knew ECU would be her home for the next four years.

“It was the tours that made the difference,” she said. “ECU students came up and started asking questions about me. It was really nice to see students on campus be so involved.”

As a high school student, Howlett knew she wanted to participate in marching band in college, and ECU was the only school on her list that offered the opportunity.

“None of the other schools I applied to had a marching band, and I really wanted to do that in college,” Howlett said. “Everybody was super welcoming during my tour, and on top of that, ECU offered a great marching band program. It was the best of both worlds.”

Madison Howlett leads the Marching Pirates as a drum major. (Photo by Amanda Brendle)

From Section Leader to Drum Major

Joining the Marching Pirates was just the start for Howlett, who had her eyes on the role of drum major from the very beginning. Last year, she served as one of the section leaders, but she knew her next step was to apply for drum major.

The application process is intensive. First, candidates submit an application with essay questions about leadership, future direction for the band and areas for improvement. Applicants also write a letter to the band outlining their vision.

“I really emphasized that I was going to operate under the idea of constant improvement and overall wellness, making sure everybody feels welcome and appreciated and meeting people where they’re at so they can improve each day,” Howlett said.

Five finalists are selected and invited to interview with Marching Pirates staff, including Dr. Joe Busuito, director of athletic bands, Alvin Taylor, assistant director of athletic bands and Dr. Chesley Black, drum major instructor.

After the interview, finalists prepare three songs for an audition in front of the entire band: the alma mater, the ECU fight song and a third song chosen from the band’s last performance.

“Usually, it’s the hardest song, but you prepare it in your own style and present it to the band,” Howlett said.

When Howlett received the email announcing she’d been chosen as one of the new drum majors, she was thrilled.

“Being a drum major means you have to be really well respected by your peers and be a good role model,” she said. “I was over the moon when I found out. It was hard keeping it a secret until they announced it. It’s been kind of a dream come true.”

Game Day Marathon

A typical game day for Howlett is a 12-hour marathon that starts early with breakfast and precise hair prep in a military style bun that has to be just right. Practice follows in uniform T-shirts and shorts, usually lasting an hour and a half with breaks for short performances like the Pirate Walk for donors.

The day continues with the March Up the Hill, where the band leads fans up College Hill, followed by tailgate performances at various spots. Stand to stand performances, pregame and halftime shows fill the afternoon, all carefully timed by Busuito.

The best part about performing with the Marching Pirates for Howlett has been seeing everyone’s hard work come together.

“In practice you can slowly see the pieces going, but on game day everybody plays the best that they can ever do. It’s magical and I love it,” she said. “Seeing everybody work so hard and then having all the fans cheering behind you, that’s my favorite part.”

Passion for STEM and Service

Music is one of Howlett’s biggest passions, but she also has a passion for STEM. She’s currently double majoring in molecular and cell biology and public health on the pre-medical track.

“With molecular and cell biology, it’s the best way to get a good fundamental understanding to prepare for medical school,” she said. “I picked public health because I was interested in a more human aspect to medicine versus just all the science and facts that biology gives you.”

Using her drive and talent, Howlett currently serves as president of Phi Sigma Pi, ECU’s oldest gender inclusive National Honor Fraternity that blends the best elements of an honor society, service organization and social fraternity.

The most rewarding part about leading Phi Sigma Pi for Howlett has been the organization’s increased focus on service events, including planning their first-ever blood drive.

“All of my chairs and committee members have started expanding outside of just Phi Sigma Pi and doing more for the community,” she said. “Some of them have started planning service events for local women’s shelters that are affected by domestic violence. It’s been really nice to see how my aid has helped other people.”

Bringing Life into the World

Howlett has also extended her aid to the ECU Birth Companions program, established in 2022 to provide free labor support to patients at ECU Health Medical Center. The program aims to address the pressing need for perinatal health support and enhance provider and patient awareness of doula services.

“It’s been really rewarding to help an underserved community,” Howlett said. “I get to work with patients from underserved communities who maybe don’t have a lot of access to prenatal care and helpful information about how to handle laboring and how to give birth.”

The program has helped Howlett solidify her passion for reproductive health and pediatrics.

“I’ve always loved working with kids and babies. It’s been nice to help bring life into the world,” she said.

Preserving History

Away from the classroom, Howlett works as a student employee in the manuscripts and digital curation department of Joyner Library. Her main priority has been surveying the library’s entire manuscript collection.

“We hold a bunch of collections ranging from before North Carolina was a colony to present day materials from professors at ECU. It’s mostly eastern North Carolina history,” Howlett said.

She is responsible for going through all the collections and ensuring that all are protected and safe from any damage, along with sorting out materials that may be redundant or unimportant.

“My job is to go through that and mark items for removal and make sure we’re keeping the very important stuff,” she said. “History is interesting in the fact that you can learn more and help apply it to the modern day. There’s even materials from when ECU Health was Pitt County Memorial Hospital. Learning more about the history of medicine while I’m also learning about the history of North Carolina has been really interesting.”

Looking Ahead

As for her future aspirations, Howlett hopes to land a spot with MedServe, a two-year work based opportunity for future health professionals to help underserved communities. Her ultimate goal is to attend medical school and become a reproductive health and women’s care doctor.

“ECU has been amazing about providing so many opportunities that it’s hard not to take advantage of it because if you don’t, you’re not really bettering yourself,” she said. “For me, taking that charge and going for it helped me a lot.”