I am a believer in the power of heavy music. Growing up, my religion was Iron Maiden, Alice in Chains, and Black Sabbath. There was something in this music that understood me, and showed me a path to follow. I knew toward the end of high school that I needed to find a career that allowed me to channel my passion for music. In my senior year I discovered Berklee College of Music during my search for a contemporary music school. I took my chops as a percussionist to Boston and auditioned during the most nerve-racking trip of my life. Lo and behold, the school accepted me, and it was in my first semester that I discovered their world-famous Music Production and Engineering major. I was immediately drawn in by the technology and entire world of audio engineering that I had never before encountered playing as a mostly classical musician. I knew this program was for me, a perfect way to combine a technical mind, an artistic passion, and the desire to produce for others the same music that had saved my life. Now in my 6th semester at Berklee, I find myself being able to reach out to the fantastic bands of the Boston metal scene and offering up to them the skills that I have worked long and hard for at this amazing school. In my transition after graduating, I plan on moving back to my hometown of Chicago and working toward establishing a heavy music scene there, whether through promotion, live venues, studio recording, or multimedia production. My goal as an artist, audio engineer, and human being is to find balance in my life, and that balance could never be achieved without music.