I look back 4 months ago and remember how anxious and excited I was to finish what would be my last semester of classes and start my internship. I didn’t know where I was going to end up or how was I getting there.  All I knew was that I wanted to be interning for a major music entertainment company in Los Angeles, California.

The exciting process began. I attended the internship 101 seminar at the Office of Experiential Learning (OEL) and learned all about what the internship program was about. I learned how to create a resume and cover letters, which by the way are crucial to master in order to achieve results, and how to “sell” myself to the company I wanted.

After that, I was allowed access to the OEL database. The real fun began. I found almost every single company’s contact info you can think of. At first, it was overwhelming to see this huge list, however, the database was really easy to navigate and search. So, I narrowed down my options and created a list of 10 companies I was really interested to work for. I also tailored every single one of my cover letters so that they would fit what the company was looking for. Luckily enough, the 5 companies I really wanted reviewed my application and conducted the interview process. This was exciting news. Even more exciting was finding out that I was offered a position at 4 out of these 5 companies. Now the problem was which one to pick…? With the advice of my internship coordinator, I created a list of pros and cons and came up with the best offer for me: Blue Microphones.

Now, here I am, 4 months later. One week into my internship I can already tell that this is going to be an exciting journey. The first day I was already at NAMM (the biggest music trade show in the world) helping out in the company booth, learning about our products, and even pitching some of them at the end of the day. I got to chat with and see successful music superstars and engineers like Tony Maserati among others.

On my first official day, I was taken to a $20 million dollar mansion in Hollywood Hills where my company had created a temporary studio to bring in musicians to test our microphones, play in live sessions, party, have fun, and hopefully leave with a great impression of our brand and company. I had to tear down the studio and bring it all back to the company’s main location. This was a lot of physical work, however, every time I was getting tired, I thought to myself “Look where I am! This where the superstars live, look at this gorgeous view…” and I managed to get through the physical pain. Then the rest of the week we reassembled the studio in our headquarters and by the end of the week we had three major acts come into the studio to try microphones and record podcasts. I am excited to see what’s next.

For now, this is all I have for you my friends. Stay tuned because this is going to be a fun ride!

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Rafael Restrepo is a CWP / Music Business & Management dual major at Berklee interning at Blue Microphone’s (studio) in LA for the Spring 2011 semester. Originally from Manizales, Colombia, Rafael is the recipient of a World Tour Scholarship and is set to graduate in May 2011. His favorite quote: “Choose carefully the things to which you give your attention. For where you place your attention is where your life will grow”.

For more information about Rafael and to listen to his projects, visit: www.rafaelrestrepo.com

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