Fayetteville State drum major Sharmila Lever rules the band, field for 8 minutes

Fayetteville, NC - Sharmila Lever can finally take a moment to relax. With the halftime show finished and Fayetteville State's Marching Bronco Express band back in the bleachers at Nick Jeralds Stadium, Lever removes her oversized drum major hat and raises a full bottle of water to her lips.

Sweat is covering her cheeks and seeping through her white headband, the remnants of a taxing eight-minute performance. "It's the longest eight minutes of your life," she says. As the head drum major at Fayetteville State, Lever oversees those eight minutes. And actively participates in them.

A 23-year-old Pine Forest High School graduate, she has one semester remaining to earn an elementary education degree, one football season left to serve as an extension of FSU band director Alfred Davis.

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