IST data sciences student Carson Pedaci is Penn State Blue Band’s new drum major

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Carson Pedaci, a third-year student in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), is the new drum major for the Penn State Blue Band. In an interview with IST, he discussed his musical background, his decision to study data sciences and the drum major’s trademark flip.

As a high school senior in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Pedaci had narrowed his college choices to the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State. While he said he appreciated the urban setting of the former, he ultimately decided that Happy Valley was where he wanted to be.

“I’m not a Penn State legacy student,” he said, “but in 2019, I attended the Buffalo v. Penn State football game — and I saw the flip.”

As exciting as that moment was, Pedaci’s first flip was in his field of study, he said.

Finding his way to IST

When he first came to Penn State, Pedaci enrolled in the Eberly College of Science with the intent to study statistics but said he quickly determined that wasn’t what he wanted to do.

“Through the orientation process, I realized that it wasn’t math-based statistics that I wanted to study but rather something more analytical,” he said. “I transferred to IST for applied data sciences before I even took my first class.”

Penn State’s data sciences major is shared among three colleges, with each college offering a unique option that students select after their second year: computational data sciences at the College of Engineering, statistical modeling data sciences in the Eberly College of Science, and applied data sciences in the College of IST.

The applied data sciences major in the College of IST equips students to formulate and solve data science problems from a particular application domain, such as the life sciences, business or behavioral science. With the help of his faculty and advisers, Pedaci created a custom application focused on entrepreneurship and innovation in the arts and architecture cluster.

Pedaci completed IST’s internship requirement as a data management intern at First National Bank in Pittsburgh, where it turned out his supervisor was a Blue Band alumnus. There, he worked with data visualization and analytics software such as Spotfire and Microsoft Power BI to make sure the bank’s data systems were running correctly.

“Working with data in a real-life setting was eye-opening,” he said. “I can see myself doing this kind of work in the field of urban development or the sports and entertainment industry.”

To that end, Pedaci said he is hoping to complete his next internship with Penn State Athletics.

Finding his way to drum major

Pedaci has made time in his busy academic life to become a veteran member of the Penn State Blue Band. A French horn player since the fourth grade and a drum major in high school — as was his dad — Pedaci secured a spot in the Blue Band before he arrived at University Park for his first semester.

“New members join the Blue Band through competitive auditions,” he said. “I passed the instrumental audition in the spring before I started at Penn State and have spent the last two years in the mellophone section, performing at games, pep rallies, parades and other events.”

Last year, Pedaci decided to try out to lead the Blue Band. He began training with former drum majors and their trainers and participated in a virtual drum major audition last spring.

“I had to submit three flips with about a minute-and-a-half in between each flip,” he said. “On May 26, I received the news that I’d been selected as the new drum major.”

Pedaci connected with Penn State’s Club Gymnastics to perfect his flip and says he’s ready to take the field.

“I have received a lot of support from Club Gymnastics,” he said. “They have been so welcoming and really showed me the ropes. They’ve been providing tips and tricks in the gym and on the field.”

Blue Band Director Gregory Drane said he is eager for Pedaci to get started.

“Carson is already showing so much promise,” Drane said. “He put in a tremendous amount of work to prepare for the season. I am excited to see everything he will accomplish throughout the year.”

Kristy Romaine, Pedaci’s adviser and the assistant director of undergraduate academic advising for the College of IST, agreed.

“If anyone were to embody the spirit of the Penn State drum major, it would be Carson,” she said.

Finding fun at Penn State

When he’s not analyzing data in Westgate or doing flips on the field, Pedaci said, he is enjoying one of his first loves: dance.

“In high school, it was tap and hip-hop first, and drum major second,” he said. “The opposite is true now, but I’m still very involved in dance.”

Pedaci also is the treasurer for the Raw Aesthetic Movements (RAM) Squad, an on-campus club he discovered during the involvement fair.

“The RAM Squad provides a friendly space to introduce students to different types of freestyle hip hop,” he said. “We host workshops and performances, meeting about three times a week in the White Building or the HUB.”

In the rare moments when he’s not on campus, Pedaci enjoys hiking or kicking back with his guitar in his off-campus apartment, which is within walking distance of the Blue Band practice field.

When asked if he had any personal goals as drum major, he said, “I want to inject energy and exuberance into this role and facilitate among my bandmates the love that I have for the organization. I want every member to feel as welcomed, included and embraced as I did when I entered my section as a first-year. I am looking forward to this year — I think we have some cool stuff in the works.”