Academic and Career Goals

Hannah Thrasher
Careers and Lifestyles
Thurs, July 14, 2011

Academic and Career Goals

    After this coming fall semester at West Valley (though I might stay for the spring semester as well), I hope to transfer to a university. I haven't concretely decided where I will go, but my safest bet is CSU Chico. I'd love to go to Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida, or Expression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, California. At Chico I can get a BA in Music Industry and Technology with an Option in Recording Arts. At Full Sail I can get a BS in Recording Arts. At Ex'pression I can get a BAS in either Sound Arts (which covers live sound and post production sound) or Interactive Audio (essentially, video game sound). If I went to Expression, I would go for the Sound Arts degree, even though the most growth is happening in Interactive Audio.
    I'd love to get an internship next summer at WaveGroup, a very successful post production house in nearby Fremont. From there, I would hope to either be hired full time, or try for an internship at Skywalker Sound or LucasArts.
    Actually, If I go to either Expression or Full Sail I won't be able to do an internship until after I graduate, since both are accelerated programs and I'd still be in school in the summer months. Skywalker Sound and LucasArts only has internships for people still in school, so to get an internship with them, I should go to Chico, so I'll have summers free. Then I'll try to get an internship with Skywalker Sound or LucasArts, then either continue at Chico and get my degree, or go to Expression or Full Sail and get my degree there. Then after getting my degree, I can get an internship at WaveGroup.
    A large deciding factor of what school I go to is whether or not I can get enough financial aid from them. I had finally accepted that I'd never be able to afford Full Sail or Expression, but after our visit to the Career Center and speaking with the career transfer advisor, I've decided to reopen those options. Now I plan to apply to all three and see what financial aid they can offer me. If I get enough financial aid and get enough scholarships, then I might be able to afford my dream school, which would be wonderful!
    As far as networking goes, I already have a contact at Skywalker Sound. I met two-time Academy Award winner Michael Semanick at the 2009 Digital Music Summit at Mission College. He was the re-recording mixer for all three Lord of the Rings films, as well as Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong. Semanick won the Oscar for Return of the King and for King Kong. I email him occasionally with updates about me and whatever projects I'm working on. Also, I'm on LinkedIn, which I've used to contact some Foley Artist and ask how they got started. I've gotten several replies, and I hope to contact them when I decide what I'm doing. I hope to attend next year's Digital Music Summit (assuming I'm still in the Bay Area), as it's an inexpensive way to meet some people working in the industry and to hear them give lectures.