Customized integrative arts major prepares alumna for career in music business

阿宾顿,爸爸. — When 凡妮莎教堂司事 conducted a nationwide search for a college major that encompassed music 和 entrepreneurship, 只有一个符合她的标准: 综合艺术 项目 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校. 

快进四年, 和, 在5月份获得学位后, she is in the early stages of developing an app to connect musicians 和 creators with the producers, promoters 和 music supervisors who can introduce them to audiences. 

“I have spent most of the summer building up funding to protect my intellectual property. I found some of the most affordable 和 efficient technologies, 和 I’ve been trying to find the correct platform that meets my needs,”她说。, 把她的进步归功于在阿宾顿的时光. 

塞克斯顿与 约翰Pachence, associate teaching professor of integrative arts 和 an accomplished figure in the industry, 定制设计一条能够支持她职业目标的道路. 她的课程包括市场营销, 音乐出版, 经济学, 人种音乐学, 写歌, 良好的生产, 吉他, 创建新企业, 智能手机应用设计, 音乐创业.  

“我甚至参加了计算机编程课程, 和 I tried to choose electives that would help me be the best businesswoman I can be,“教堂司事, 谁参加了易胜博大峡谷分校的MBA课程, 说. 

The coursework 和 her time working with Pachence on stage 和 sound setups for his concerts 和 campus music events gave her h和s-on experience with artists. 但她的同学启发了这款应用. 

“When I came to 阿宾顿, I found people who were excited about music. My classmates were mostly aspiring musicians struggling to build a fanbase. I realized that producers 和 music supervisors have a hard time finding fresh artists because social media is saturated. I want this app to bridge the gap 和 allow them to make connections,塞克斯顿说.  

The content on the app was inspired by conversations with music industry professionals with whom she networked. 

“Developing a fanbase comes from collaboration so a big aspect of the app is connecting people. Artists will be able to create profiles along with producers 和 promoters. These features differentiate me from competitors 和 help me protect new artists, 所以他们没有被利用,”她说。.

Outside of the traditional classroom space, 塞克斯顿与 the 阿宾顿LaunchBox, 校园创业孵化器, 和 she was awarded a scholarship to attend Penn State Startup Week Powered by PNC at the University Park campus through the 阿宾顿LaunchBox. 

“I made a lot of connections at Startup Week with successful 和 unsuccessful business owners — you need to learn from both sides of the equation — 和 I met with staff from the Penn State Small Business Development Center, 大学公园,塞克斯顿说.  

Pachence和 彼得公司他是阿宾顿发射箱的主任，同时也在教书 管理与创业成为了她的导师. 

“约翰有人脉和不可思议的资源, 和 he isn’t teaching from textbooks — he is showing you how to navigate the music business as it currently exists. 约翰说得很清楚，他关心你的成功, 但他也会伸出手来确保你一切都好,塞克斯顿说。, 谁出身于企业家家庭.  

“Peter 和 John made sure that I had what I needed to succeed. Peter really cares about the students 和 wants to give us every advantage,”她说。. 

帕切斯说他从一开始就对塞克斯顿印象深刻. 

"Vanessa is a brilliant student who embodies an integrative arts major — creative 和 flexible with an entrepreneurial mindset. We devised a diverse 和 extremely marketable curriculum for her that is only possible through 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校’s integrative arts major,他说. 

Sexton found additional support for her goals when she was inducted into the National Society of Leadership 和 Success chapter on campus.  

“There were great opportunities to listen to advice from business leaders from around the globe, as well as opportunities for feedback 和 to connect with other student leaders. It's a great resource for students looking to entrepreneurially revolutionize their fields,”她说。. 

关于宾大阿宾顿 

易胜博娱乐分校提供了一个负担得起的, accessible 和 high-impact education to its diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. 有3个以上,100名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers bachelor’s degrees in 25 majors, 本科研究, 施赖尔荣誉学院, NCAA三级田径和更多.