Jon Petrelli

Songwriter and Musician Jon Petrelli swears his SPC internship got him back on track. No pun intended.

"This internship has offered me a second chance at life," said Petrelli, who earned an A.S. degree in Music Industry Recording Arts.

Through his MIRA internship at Cupit Music Studios in Nashville, Tenn., Jon found his inspiration again. He said the best advice he received was from one of his MIRA professors, who told him to check his ego at the door and not go into the internship with the mentality of a singer or a songwriter, but instead to simply listen, learn and grow.

"I don't know how to thank him for that," said Petrelli, who heeded the advice and introduced himself as a MIRA student intern from St. Petersburg College in Florida rather than promoting himself or his own CD. About 80 percent of the people he met ended up giving him their business cards.

"They were inviting me into their world," Petrelli said. "It's all about building trust. It's about building relationships, and that translates across all the fields that you have."

For Jon, SPC was a no-brainer: MIRA students take part in internships learn firsthand how to work in professional recording and broadcast studios and audio post-production facilities, and they also engage in live event production, studio engineering and acoustic and remote recording. 

"The MIRA program is one of a kind," Jon said. "I had researched colleges and universities all over the country, and to find a specialized program like MIRA right here in my back yard was a true blessing."