Ella McDaniel, who served at the University of Iowa's Golden Girl for four years, will graduate in spring 2025 with a a BS in exercise science on the pre-athletic training track.
Story: Emily Nelson
Photography: Justin Torner
Published: May 7, 2025
Ella McDaniel was on a Zoom ballet class when she got a phone call from an Iowa City, Iowa, number.
She turned off her camera, muted the microphone, and answered.
“It was the Hawkeye Marching Band director, Dr. Eric Bush, telling me I got the Golden Girl position,” McDaniel says. “I was so excited and ran upstairs to tell my mom. I called my whole family. I was just ecstatic. In the meantime, my dance teacher was wondering where I was. But she forgave me!”
McDaniel will graduate this spring with a BS in exercise science on the pre-athletic training track after spending four years as the University of Iowa’s Golden Girl, the main featured twirler in the Hawkeye Marching Band.
“A lot of people don’t know that the University of Iowa Golden Girl is one of the most coveted collegiate twirling positions,” says McDaniel, who is from Candia, New Hampshire. “Growing up, I used to watch the Golden Girls at our national championships every year. I can remember being 8 years old watching Chelsea Russell, who was amazing.”
McDaniel first visited campus during her junior year of high school, and she watched the Hawkeyes battle Penn State at Kinnick Stadium.
“It was a night game, which, as everyone knows, are the best football games to go to,” McDaniel says. “I immediately knew I loved the fans; I loved the community; I loved every aspect of the Hawkeyes and the University of Iowa. I grew up 1,000 miles away, so it was pretty far to come for college, but something I’ll never regret.”
It was at the university that McDaniel also discovered a passion for athletic training. She originally planned to become a physical therapist. The stress put on her body from long training hours meant she spent plenty of time with physical therapists over the years. But she soon realized that she wanted to be more in the action.
“I also knew I wanted to work with athletes, specifically, because it’s interesting to see the hard work that they put in and help them get back to their prime level of competing,” McDaniel says. “Through shadowing and through experience, I realized that I really liked the world of athletic training. It combines everything I enjoyed about PT along with other elements that I was missing.”
Ella McDaniel
Hometown: Candia, New Hampshire
Degree: BS in exercise science on the pre-athletic training track
What’s next: Starting the Master of Science in Athletic Training (MSAT) program at the University of Iowa.
What are some of your earliest memories on campus?
We have band camp a week before classes start, so I moved in before my freshman year roommate did, and before almost everyone in my dorm. So, that first day was pretty quiet. And then we headed off to band camp, and all I remember is walking into a room of 200 people and only knowing one person. That was pretty scary at first. I was really intimidated by all these strangers and not knowing anyone. And I remember on the very first day, all the freshmen were sitting down and our band director said to us, “Look to the left and look to the right. These people are going to become some of your closest friends and maybe even family someday.” I wondered if that would be true, but it was, and now I can confidently say I’m really, really close friends with all those people.
What was your most memorable experience or your best memory?
There are definitely a few memorable experiences. But the first one that comes to mind was the Nebraska football game this past year. It was absolutely freezing, and if you see me on game days, you know I don't really get to wear many layers. But adrenaline definitely helps with that, and it was pumping through me, especially as we won on a game-winning field goal. It was such a good way to celebrate with my fellow seniors, and my family was in Iowa City for the game, and I got to be on the field and be recognized with all the other seniors in the marching band for all the work we’ve put in and everything we've given to the university. So that was really, really special.
What has provided you with the greatest sense of belonging while at the University of Iowa?
As the Golden Girl, it’s just me, myself, and I a lot of the time, but I’m part of something much bigger: the Hawkeye Marching Band. I’d never been a part of a marching band before, so I had no idea what it was all about. But I’ve made all my best friends, my roommates, all the people that I spend 90% of my life with here through the marching band. It has provided such a great sense of community for me. They are the people who I’m able to trust and lean on when I am sad and the people that I get to celebrate with when good things happen. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the people that I've met through the Hawkeye Marching Band.
There are so many majors represented in the band. I've met people in my own major who I could study with and others in fields such as music, and I'm able to go to their recitals and enjoy all the hard work they put in. One roommate of mine is in the College of Business, another one is in the pharmacy program, and my boyfriend, who is also in the band, is a political science and ethics and public policy major. And we all met through marching band. It’s cool to see that we all have different interests and different academic goals, but we're able to come together through our shared passion and make something amazing.
Ella McDaniel, who served at the University of Iowa's Golden Girl for four years, will graduate in spring 2025 with a a BS in exercise science on the pre-athletic training track.
What is one of the most valuable things you learned?
The importance of growth. There are so many little nooks and crannies throughout the university that can help you grow in more ways than you may think. For me, my main involvement was being part of Hawkeye sports and cheering on our athletes at every game, but I was able to grow through that and learn resilience and the value of being a performer. And then on the other hand, I was able to grow an insane amount in my academic area, so I was able to learn things that I had no idea even existed before I came to the university. I grew not only through academics, through athletics, but as a person as well.
Who was your most important mentor here, and what role did they play in your experience?
My biggest mentor has been our band director, Dr. Bush. I’ve known him since I was 11 years old when he was at The Pennsylvania State University. He was so welcoming and showed me what it was like to be a Hawkeye and what Hawkeye pride really was. He’s always been there for me. Marching band is much more than what people see on the field. There are so many morals that are taught and life lessons learned. And I don't think I would have learned as much as I have without his mentorship.
What advice would you give the next Golden Girl?
I’m really excited for my successor, Carissa Wolfe, to come in. I’m excited I’ll be able to help her as I’ll be here for the next few years for the Master of Science in Athletic Training program. I encourage her to live and breathe in every moment because it really flies by. I didn’t believe when people told me four years ago that it would be over in a blink of an eye. But it has. It went so quick, and I don’t regret any minute of it.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
Thank you to my mom, dad, sister, grandparents, and everyone else who has made my journey at Iowa into something special.