On Oct. 1, Northview 2017 graduate and Ohio State University band member Noah Jockett realized a longtime dream. He dotted the “i” during the pregame performance of “Script Ohio,” an honor earned by only fourth or fifth year members of the KL or sousaphone section. “I had the honor of dotting during the halftime of the homecoming game, which also happened to mark the 100th anniversary of the first time Ohio State played a game in ‘The Shoe,’ (Ohio Stadium). It’s a lot of work to dot the ‘i,’ and what I mean by that isn’t that the actual ‘i’ dot is laborious, but that it is a multi-year process to get there. Band tryouts are an annual stressful activity. So every year you are fighting to get back into the band with the other 27 sousaphone players and getting one step closer to dotting the ‘i.’ I am definitely glad that I have finally completed the home stretch of such a long and arduous journey,” he stated.

“While I didn’t set my goal to dot the ‘i’ until several years later, the first time I decided I wanted to join The Ohio State University Marching Band was when my grandfather took me to an Ohio State game when I was just 6 years old. At the time I wasn’t very interested in football, but I immediately fell in love with the band. I turned to him during pregame and said ‘I wanna do that during the pregame show,” Jockett remembered.

“I started playing tuba in seventh grade and then in high school got to play sousaphone in the marching band. So I have been playing sousaphone for 10 years now, and tuba for 12. I got connected with Jeff Knowles, an alumnus of The Best Damn Band In The Land, and past ‘i’-dotter through his wife, Ali Knowles, who was my band director at Arbor Hills Middle School. I started taking lessons from Jeff and we have all remained good friends ever since I graduated from high school. I owe a lot of thanks to the Knowleses for all the support, encouragement and, of course, musical skill that they have offered me through my journey to dot the i,” Jockett said.

In addition to his being a member of the OSU Marching Band, Jockett is working to complete a major in music education, and philosophy. He would like to write fiction after graduation.

“I want to thank my family and friends for always being so supportive of my endeavors, and particularly for being a part of my ‘i’ dotting experience, an event that I will cherish forever.”