Student & Graduate Success Stories
Click the images to read the full articles!
Bedroom Producer Doubles Down During Covid & Comes Out Winning
Neil O’Reilly completed Recording Connection’s 6–9-month Audio Engineering & Music Production Program in 2019. And even though he graduated feeling on fire and ready to launch his career as an audio engineer, he found life and his “regular job” perpetually standing in the way. When circumstances out of his control led to him getting laid off, moping was not on the itinerary. With time on his side, Neil got busy, built connections, and got collaborating with artists worldwide. Now, Neil’s right where he wants to be. As “the guy in the chair” he’s mixing it up at Barron Collective and making it happen, one session at a time.
How Ramy Morales Went 5x Platinum & Signed with Sony/ATV!
When Ramy Morales enrolled in the program he was sure about one thing—he wanted to make music. Then he did something so many others fail at doing. He took his passion seriously and started putting in the work. Days that went well beyond any standard nine to five. Now, with 5 platinum tracks under his belt and a deal with Sony/ATV, Ramy tells about how he did it and the fateful meeting that set him on his right path.
How Angelica Smiley Got On-Path & Turned Her Life Story into TV Pilot
Over the past year, Angelica Smiley has enriched her perspective and grown her abilities as a filmmaker and creator capable of writing, directing, and producing her work. Now with an informed, realistic gameplan in place, she's actively building a career that's anchored to her true sense of self and purpose.
How Morning Estrada Quit His Day Job & Got Working with Chart-Topping Producers & Artists
Morning Estrada's love of music was a given but he'd never considered working in it as a career choice. “That was my thing. I just would buy CDs and read [about] the studios where they record, and what area they were in. The engineers, I would read about [them] and the producers, the writers. I would love to open up a CD and just read all the credits…as I bought different CDs…[I] started noticing certain names would pop up and stuff. Like, oh, that writer was part of this song too. That’s crazy, and they’re totally two different artists, two different parts of the world.”
Lessons from the Frontlines… Grad & Mentor DAWSØN Records Kanye West!
August 5th, 2021, Kanye West live-streams the release of his new album Donda, at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Recording Connection graduate Dawsøn is the engineer there to catch it all. Sometimes it isn’t ready, go, jump, it’s just jump! When Recording Connection graduate and now mentor, Dawsøn, got the call, he had to act fast. That’s exactly what he and his team at Junxion Sound did.
K Campbell Got Trained, Hired & Going in Beat Making & Audio Engineering
By the time K Campbell enrolled in the program, he’d embarked on a couple of different career paths and found that they just didn’t fit nor inspire him. “I was going to school for nursing at first. And I did that in high school, and I did that first year of college. And then I quit doing that… and went on to Owens Community College, and I took classes there under a fellowship… becoming a [mechanical] engineer in that fashion… but… the factory atmosphere wasn’t fitting with my inner feelings. Then my last-ditch attempt [to make music] was actually something somebody special to me told me, and she was just like, ‘You could do it if you really wanted to.’”
How Alondra Nuñez Geared Up for the Road Ahead in Radio!
When Alondra Nuñez got her foot in the door on Telemundo’s show, De Todo un Poco, she did not rest on her laurels. Instead, she made the choice to get the real-world education and insight that would enable her to succeed over the coming months and years. "Once I was working there… I realized that I really loved radio and TV… [and] that I wanted to get better at what I do, so that’s when I hit up Radio Connection.” In a matter of months, Alondra's mentor, Craig Larson, Chief Operating Officer of Gow Media, had shown her the ins and outs of properly working the format on radio, including how radio stations measure their ratings.