I’m really excited about a story from a favorite former student and advisee, Julie Davis. I put the story together, but she deserves all credit for it. It is just such an inspiring tale of kicking off one’s career in a smart, smart way by completing multiple internships:
As a college student struggling to make ends meet, would you have the courage to swear off typical college restaurant and retail jobs and commit yourself to career-boosting internships — even unpaid internships? Rising Manhattan College senior Julie Davis did — even after relocating from Florida to the far more expensive New York City.
Marketing major Davis, 21, aspires to enter the music business. With four internships under her belt, additional hands-on experience while in high school, and a budding not-for-profit college radio promotions entrepreneurial venture to her credit, Davis could be characterized as already being in the music business.
“I’ve wanted to work in music as far back as I can remember,” Davis recalls. “I’ve always had a love of music, mostly stemming from the obsessions my family had. As I got older being part of the music became more ingrained in me.” Davis notes that she can “effortlessly give a timeline of my life based on the music I was into and mixtapes I made at each period.”
A native of Sunrise, FL, Davis began to truly get her feet wet in music at around age 15. “My brother decided he wanted to be a musician and start planning events, so I think I gained much of my interest in working in the industry from him pushing me to help with recordings and shows,” Davis says.
“From there I helped him set up a recording studio in my mom’s house, and I started recording and managing my friends’ bands. At that point I was doing anything and everything to keep working in entertainment — planning high-school concerts, working with night clubs, programming at [radio station] WKPX and so on.”
Read the rest here.