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BOISE STATE MARCHING BAND STUDENT WINS NATIONAL HONOR One of the most prestigious awards presented by the Kappa Kappa Psi national honor band fraternity was recently given to Boise State University senior Kate Hoffman. The AEA Award recognizes achievement in academics, band, Kappa Kappa Psi and other extracurricular activities. According to the honor society’s national office in Stillwater, Okla., Hoffman is one of four recipients selected from a nationwide pool of applicants. The other winners were from the University of New Hampshire, Mississippi State University and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Hoffman, an English major with a double emphasis in writing and technical communication, is a 1999 graduate of Meridian High School and the daughter of Andrew and Bonnie Hoffman of Boise. For four years she has played alto sax in the Boise State Keith Stein Blue Thunder Marching Band, for which she served as president last year and as section leader for three years. "I have been involved in music for 17 years," said Hoffman. "Music is really a big part of my life. I absolutely love marching band." She has shared her passion for music with younger students by helping to organize the state’s District III marching band competition, the Boise State All-Star High School Marching Band and by helping with music department auditions and tryouts for high school seniors. Hoffman was one of the founding organizers of Boise State’s chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, Iota Kappa, which was founded last year. Hoffman has been vice-president both years. For her senior project in the Honors College, she is writing a book about the marching band experience using anecdotes to reflect the culture of band members and examining the need for continued support of band programs. She is also a Brown Honors scholar, a peer advisor for the Gateway Center for Academic Support and a member of Sigma Tau Delta English majors’ honor society, Phi Kappa Phi honor society and the Golden Key National Honor Society. Three of her pieces — a poem, essay and short story — were selected for publication in the national yearly journal of Sigma Tau Delta. And she is a two-time winner of the Boise State President’s Essay Writing Award. She plans to graduate in May 2004. -30- Media contact Pat Pyke communications and marketing 208 426-1987

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