While hordes of screaming girls waited in line for the One Direction Concert, Music Industry/Recording Arts (MIRA) students were front and center. The opportunity was the result of the national growing reputation of St. Petersburg College’s MIRA Program.

VIP Nation and CID Entertainment contacted Career Outreach Specialist, Rosaria Pipitone, to staff their upcoming One Direction and country superstar Luke Bryan Tampa shows. This is the third national touring act who contacted SPC to recruit MIRA students and alumni.

MIRA students were brought in to work alongside touring staff to prepare backstage for the anticipated 65,000 fans. When the doors opened, MIRA alumni greeted and directed thousands of guests, controlled VIP party entrance, and assisted with photography.

MIRA student Nathan Doyle exclaimed, “I thought it was super impressive to think of the huge scale of the operation and the number of people in attendance. In addition, they mentioned it took about three days to set up the stage and lighting that went into the show.”

Alumnus Jesse Vance chose to stay anonymous in the photo below while packing the VIP merchandise. Maybe because of the overwhelming amount of teenage guests? When asked what impacted Jesse the most, he responded, “The fact that One Direction’s road crew eats like kings. And we got to eat with them – filet mignon!”

Post-shift, Rosaria and MIRA students/alumni were granted free entrance to the sold out show. Students and alumni were able to visually experience the massive production close-up, fireworks, and of course, the screaming fans. What a great hands-on experience for our MIRA students!

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