On Thursday, October 25th, 2007 three recent IAR graduates participated in an Alumni Panel discussion with current students. The focus of the discussion was to provide current students with insight and advice from past students who currently work in the music industry. The three graduates were: Kate Dohaney, Music Producer at Siblings Music (featured in October 2007 TRACKS), Sean Carolan, Editor at Project 35 Film Productions, and Shawn O’Connor, Music Instructor at Charlie Choo Choo and Talent Sprouts.

The night’s discussion was led by Georgia Dobson, who teaches the Industry Practicum (IP) course and also works in IAR’s Graduate Placement office. IP is for students nearing graduation and covers building an audio resume, techniques of job search, and tips for successful interviewing and on-the-job success.

Each panelist has taken a different career path since IAR, and the experiences they have had demonstrate both the diverse opportunities that exist after school as well as the need for students to be open-minded about career focus. As Shawn O’Connor put it, “As a student at IAR, all I wanted to do was live sound and I never thought I’d be teaching music to elementary school students. But I love it and, at the same time, I’m still looking into work in live sound.”

The majority of the students attending the event were approaching graduation and had many questions about what to expect and how to prepare for internships. Each panel member received his/her first position through IAR’s career services department and all of them stressed the need to be active and use the school’s resources. They talked about how to conduct oneself in an interview and on the job. Sean Carolan told the students that he took his first internship knowing full well that he would be unpaid and that it would be temporary but that the in-depth experience and the high-profile clientele and industry exposure were valuable and worthwhile. Because of that first internship and the skills and experience he developed, he was hired at his current employer as a professional audio and video editor. The students received the benefit of wisdom and recommendations from graduates who, just months earlier, were in the same shoes. After the discussion, the students were given the chance to meet the panel members one-on-one, and many seized the opportunity to exchange contact information and submit resumes.