It's More Than Just Music
Willie Thompson has been a professional musician for 35 years, but today he is looking to apply his Bachelor's degree in Recording Arts from the International Academy of Design and Technology in Tampa to industries other than music.
"This degree can open so many doors to so many different opportunities. Audio recording isn't just about music. There are audio needs everywhere from the military to the Department of Defense, the medical field and law enforcement. Audio is expanding so rapidly. The Academy is teaching me enough to go into any kind of audio work I want to."
Evidently the Academy is also teaching Willie enough to excel in the current audio work he does. Willie works full time doing audio for the Veterans Administration. "It seems everything I learn at the Academy I translate right into my responsibilities at work. Being able to do that is a unique situation. I took a few courses here and there before enrolling at the Academy and was never really able to apply what I learned so quickly. I have helped bring my section right up to today's technology, and that is 100-percent attributable to the Academy."
Willie says even his bosses and coworkers have noticed how much more he now brings to the team—as have other professionals in the field. "I've had some people from other business markets comment that if I ever quit this job, they'll hire me."
Willie isn't totally neglecting the music aspects of the Recording Arts program, however. "What I've actually done is form a dual objective. I can write and arrange music and have 35 years' experience in the music industry; my Academy classes certainly add to those skills, too. I like to think I'm applying what I'm learning to more the traditional audio opportunities like those in music and then also making sure to not neglect the many other ways audio skills—the ways a lot of other people might not have thought about—can be applied."
"There are so many avenues you can take with this degree, and I feel prepared for any and all of them."