Cassie Forsyth | Staff Writer

Junior Music Production major Myckeal Rake recently secured an internship for January. He will be working for Sweetwater in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Sweetwater is the largest online music store with one of the top recording studios.

Rake had to go through a long process to be given this opportunity. After filling out an application, he went through six months of interviews and phone calls until a final test in July. The test assured Sweetwater that he knew the equipment and how to use it properly. Rake was also tested on etiquette and software.

Associate Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies and Music Production Dr. David Klee is Rake’s advisor and is happy to see him have this experience.

“He gets the rare opportunity to be in one of the top, high tech recording studios in the country,” Klee said.

Rake has always wanted to work in a studio, and this is a chance to work in one of the most professional studios in the Midwest. He’s excited for this chance because he knows it will boost his resume along with give him the experience he needs to go into work once he graduates.

“Anyone who does anything with music recording, they’ll know the name Sweetwater, and they’ll know it’s a respectable place,” Rake said.

Nearly 90 percent of interns at Sweetwater are offered jobs after they graduate. If Rake is given this opportunity, he believes it would be a great place to start for a few years before moving onto something bigger.

Klee’s goal in the music production major is for the students to be highly trained in diverse areas of recording technology, so they will be prepared in the highly competitive market. Rake’s internship with Sweetwater will help with that, especially because he is the only student of Klee’s that has had an internship with the company.

“What I’m hoping for him is that he’s going to be able to get his hands on the top, newest, high tech equipment in the world, which he will be. It’s the newest, it’s the best, it’s the greatest stuff out there, and he’s going to learn from it,” Klee said.

This internship will give Rake an opportunity to have experience in a real life setting and learn how things work.

“I hope to learn everything. I’m mostly concerned with dealing with costumers in a proper manner and learning the steps from point A to point B, the start to finish. Just going from one step to another is what I’m excited to do,” Rake said.

Photo by Justice Gage