February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month! CTE Month celebrates the value of workforce education programs and how they change lives, fill much-needed jobs and boost our local economy. At St. Petersburg College, we are proud of our programs and our graduates, and in celebration, we’d like to share some of their stories with you.
See how these two grads are living their dreams with Music Industry Recording Arts degrees from SPC.
Skyler Golden
Skyler Golden, 26, has been a hard-working musician since he was very young, and a string of successes led him to St. Petersburg College’s Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) program, where he earned his associate degree in 2020, with a production subplan.
It all began when the St. Petersburg native’s guitar performance, accompanied by his sister on keyboard, won a St. Petersburg Mayor’s Youth Achievement Award. This gave him the traction to be selected to participate in the GRAMMY Museum’s Music Revolution Project, where, along with other select youth, he recorded in major studios and performed in various venues. It was there where he learned about SPC’s MIRA program.
Golden says his time at SPC not only earned him a degree and a ProTools certificate, but also paved the way to many job opportunities in the music industry. As a working musician, he has gigged and toured with bands, playing Neo soul, funk, jazz and trip hop.
“I got so many opportunities from SPC,” Golden said. “My songwriting teacher, Jamie Hughes, connected me with Ruth Eckerd Hall, and I opened for some bands there. I was also able to work at the Clearwater Jazz Holiday through SPC, where I did stage production for artists like Allison Krauss, Gloria Gaynor and Snarky Puppy.”
Golden credits his success in the MIRA program to getting fully involved in the program.
“I fell in love with the school, the campus and the professors,” he said. “I was offered a job tutoring in the MIRA program, and I did that for years. They just gave me a ton of support, and I felt like I was part of a community.”
Not willing to give up any aspect of the business, Golden stays busy playing with different bands, recording his music, producing others’ music and at Zen Recording Studios.
In addition, Golden is returning home to SPC, as he just landed a job running sound at The Palladium Theater, a venerable local venue owned by the college. In addition, he’ll keep playing, and hopes to build up the studio and produce bands and artists and record a solo album.
“SPC’s the best thing you can get in this area for music productions, connections and networking – for anyone looking to get into the music industry,” Golden said. “It has been the most supportive, loving platform I could have asked for to launch my music career into production and songwriting and studio work.”
Cody Haynes
St. Petersburg College’s Music Industry Recording Arts (MIRA) program proved to be a career-maker for Dakota “Cody” Haynes, 22. Haynes started the MIRA program three years ago, about the same time he landed a job with Cox Media WHPT station 102.5 as part of their event crew. Haynes will graduate in May with his Associate in Science degree from SPC’s MIRA program, with a sub plan in production.
“I was doing events as a street team member for 102.5 while I was taking classes,” Haynes said. “I really wanted to be on air or in the studio, so I signed up for MIRA’s Audio for Broadcast class.”
In that class, Haynes was able to earn his Radio Operator Certification, which was included in the course. He also earned levels one and two Dante (Digital Audio Network Through Ethernet) certifications in his coursework, which he says helped him land the job of his dreams.
“I did the radio operator certification and fell in love with it,” he said. “I told my boss that I had the certification and that if he ever needed anyone in studio or on air, I was qualified and knew what I was doing.”
Not too long after that, his boss approached him and asked if he would like to be on the Fantasy Live show, a Sunday morning show that talked fantasy football. From a connection he made with a fellow student, he also scored a gig running live sound locally.
“It’s pretty surreal – all of it,” Haynes said. “Especially being on the radio. It’s exactly what I want to do.”
Haynes, who also plays guitar, piano and sings, said he had no knowledge of how to use production software before he started the program.
“I just knew I wanted to know,” he said. “You can go into that program with little knowledge and come out knowing everything about live sound, performance and composition. They taught me everything I need to know.”