I know this is a bit cheesy, but it’s the truth. Every summer from when I was in middle school until my later years of undergrad, I attended a summer camp. I learned a lot from those summers, including the path that I should take in my life. It began to become clear to me one day when I was eating lunch in the dining hall. I was 15 (an older camper) and sitting with one of my favorite counselors at a table of younger campers. One of the kids had been wrongfully accused of a crime (maybe taking the last serving on the plate and not refilling it or something along those lines), and the rest of the table was ganging up on him and trying to get him to refill it. The counselor at the table didn’t know that they were lying and decided that the camper would have to clean the whole table as a punishment. This really bothered me and I butted into the situation telling them what I had seen. This is the earliest situation I can remember of feeling a need to protect people that are at a disadvantage and because of that feeling I went into law school. I now am a Public Defender representing people that have a disadvantage in our legal system. I think your music and message are great, keep it up!

Love your music…I guess y “moment” was when I was a junior in high school….That’s when I decided to follow my dream of becoming an artist instead of following the path my family had chosen for me….It was hard and my parents did not want to support me financially but I felt that if this was something I wanted to do I was going to try for it. I applied to some state schools and was given a full scholorship to New Paltz in Albany…I graduated with honors and I teach art in the Bronx. I love teaching art and though my family was not supportive in the beginning, they now see I am happy and .value what I do….Sometimes you have to take a chance in life and go for the dream. Glad you are following yours.

In high school, I was known as the piano guy – and I took part in every musical activity available. Concert Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band – I even sang in the Choir. Music was my life, but the only music program available at college in my hometown was a three-year classical piano performance degree. Since I didn’t want to pursue piano performance or teaching, I quickly ruled out that option and went with the “safe” path of a double degree in law and finance.

Throughout the five-year double degree program, I had no interest in my classes and knew I didn’t want to work in either of those fields. However, I stuck with it because I didn’t want to give up. Before I knew it, I had graduated and was about to take the Bar Exam. A part of me was resigned to the fact that I would just become a lawyer and get over my dreams of being a professional musician. However, in the back of my mind I knew I would always regret it if I didn’t at least try to turn music into a job.

Around this time, I was looking into music schools and came across Berklee College of Music in Boston. A school of contemporary music offering twelve different majors geared specifically towards the music industry sounded exactly like what I was looking for. On a whim, I sent in an application. It felt like the right time to take a few risks.

On September 1st 2006, I received an email from Berklee’s Admissions Office informing me that I had been accepted to start in Spring 2007. That would turn out to be a life-changing moment for me. I packed my bags for Boston, and had the time of my life at a college where I was surrounded by like-minded musicians and an amazing faculty. Since I had a genuine interest in my class material, it was easy for me to excel academically. During my seven semesters, I also took part in student clubs, worked as a student advisor to freshmen, and forged some deep friendships. It was one of the most well-balanced and fulfilling periods of my life.

In May 2010, I graduated from Berklee with a degree in Contemporary Writing & Production, Summa Cum Laude. It was a great ending to my experiences in Boston, but what made Commencement even more memorable was the honor of giving the student speech. From there, I made another bold move and shipped all of my belongings to Los Angeles with only an internship waiting for me. For over a year now, I’ve been living in Santa Monica and working for a leading music production company. Pretty soon, I hope to do something big – something challenging and creatively fulfilling.

It was 1972 and I was in college. For the first two years my major was ” undecided”. By spring I was getting a lot of pressure to declare my major…At that point I realized that I had no idea what I wanted to be ” when I grew up”. It seemed like a waste to spend a lot of money taking courses that were interesting but did not prepare me for a career. I dropped out of college and got a job in a nursing home as a recreation leader. After a short period of time I realized that I really enjoyed working with people. I loved the old people and the stories that they told. It was during that year I realized I wanted to go into nursing. Though I did not stay working with that population, it was that experience which led me to a longstanding career working with people in the nursing profession. Sometimes, you really have to question what you’re doing before you can figure out what it is you’re supposed to do…..