"We all feel like... America loves us. We're America's band right now," says Alex Liddell Jr., a senior at Talladega College in Alabama. He plays sousaphone in the school's marching band, which is set to perform in the parade at Donald Trump's inauguration.
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"I want to visit some of the museums... especially walk on Pennsylvania Avenue." -- Shylexis Robinson (sophomore, clarinet)
Melissa Golden/Redux for CNN
"It's really amazing. Who could've thought in this short amount of time that you could come from nothing to all of this." -- Darnell Battle (senior, trumpet)
Melissa Golden/Redux for CNN
"I do understand why they don't want us to march but I feel like they should understand why we want to march. It's like a life-changing experience." -- Melissa Harris (sophomore, piccolo)
Melissa Golden/Redux for CNN
"We've prepared ourselves mentally and physically as we should." -- Everett Berger (freshman, cymbals)
Melissa Golden/Redux for CNN
"Bigger and better things are coming our way." -- Tequila Anderson (junior, trombone)
Melissa Golden/Redux for CNN
"We're going... to go to D.C. and perform and just enjoy ourselves. This is a good experience for us because some people haven't been before." -- Phalarius Hutchinson (freshman, clarinet)
Melissa Golden/Redux for CNN
"It'll take an act of God to stop us right now. ... We're going to be the shock of the day." -- Joseph Madison (senior, mellophone)
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"I could tell my kids further down the line that we did something great even though people felt like we shouldn't go." -- Eriel House (senior, saxophone)
Melissa Golden/Redux for CNN
"I'm ready to play my drums and perform with the rest of my brothers." -- Elijah Oshibanjo (junior, tenor drum)
