In 2018, I graduated from Middle Tennessee State University’s (MTSU) College of Media and Entertainment (CME) with a Bachelor of Science. My main focus during that fruitful time was the recording industry program, with some time spent minoring in film (as literature, of course).

While at MTSU, I attained a number of technical skills in the recording studio and various music labs. On the side, I worked in a management position at WMTS 88.3 FM as their editor-in-chief for three years (I also DJed multiple radio shows each week). In addition to managing the website, I offered support where needed in more technical roles.

One of my side projects during the last half of college was writing reviews and news blurbs for an electronic music website in London, England. After graduating college, I assisted with an album release campaign that was ran out of Vancouver, Canada, with writing being quoted in various notable online music magazines. I did music writing for some time on a volunteer basis and then moved on to figuring out what my future career would look like.

After college, I moved to downtown Nashville and lived in a dark, dingy basement apartment right in the middle of downtown. My mold-infested lair (true story, happy to tell this rather funny one over a drink or two) turned out to be a blessing-in-disguise, as 2018 and 2019 were both very productive years for me. I worked multiple jobs as a stagehand and audio technician—all while juggling a job at Target as an expert in handling backroom logistics.

My wife and I got married in late 2019 and I decided to leave my job at Target to find something more career-oriented. In early 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began, I started working for a large national event company that offered a number of production services at large conference venues around the country. That job wasn’t meant to be after a couple months, and a year-long period of figuring out what to do next began.

I am immensely grateful for the volunteer writing roles I held over the couple years previous to this. Throughout 2020, I made good on my desire to turn years of writing into a real career. I wrote multiple freelance pieces on public policy for a think tank and participated in two remote fellowships with an organization that helps both those looking to moving into a writing career and those who write professionally improve their craft.

When 2021 began, I started looking for writing roles that allowed me to put my skills to use and kick start my career as a writer. One of the things I enjoy doing in my spare time is devouring Culture. What better way to combine the two things than a job in marketing? I was hired on to my current role as a content specialist in 2021, and I’ve been there since.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading literature of all eras. Some of my favorite authors include Vladimir Nabokov, Marcel Proust, Karl Ove Knausgård, Jorge Luis Borges, Dan Simmons, and Edward Abbey. I also have a deep love for poetry, including the works of Matsuo Basho, Pablo Neruda, Arseny Tarkovsky (the father of Andrei Tarkovsky), and Rainer Maria Rilke. I’ll skip film here (unless you want a dissertation on Ingmar Bergman).

I’d be remiss if I failed to mention my very obvious love for music of all different kinds. When people tell you they like “everything,” I’m comfortable with saying that they’re mostly just saying that (and that’s totally fine, everyone has a preference). I truly do love “EVERYTHING,” and I’m happy to fork over a .csv of exported RYM data in case you don’t believe me.