By Hannah Shirey ’23, assistant editor
Professionals from across the country will be coming to the Valley in November for LVC’s annual student-run VALE Music Group’s Conference.
The VALE Conference is an all-day event that features multiple panels, topics and demonstrations from professionals in unique fields in both music and media. The professionals will discuss jobs, internships and up-to-date information about industries that might be unfamiliar to students.
LVC students with various majors such as business, digital communications and music have been working together since the start of the semester to plan for the action-packed day. The Conference will be held in-person on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The students who create and host the Conference take the course IDS-179: VALE Conference with Dr. Jeffrey Snyder, chair and professor of music.
“It is probably the most stressful real-world class they’ll take part in, leading to skills and knowledge that they’ll use for life,” Snyder said. “I’m always amazed at the creativity, initiative and passion of the students.”
In reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, the slogan for this year’s Conference is “Back in Business.” The Conference will concentrate on the skills needed to get specific jobs post-graduation. In past years, the Conference focused on the panelists’ jobs themselves.
“We want our panelists to describe the skills and knowledge they needed to get the job they have,” Sarah Papson, VALE vice president, said.
Students will have the opportunity to interact and network with the professionals. Students can ask the experts questions about their experiences and how they went about acquiring their specific career.
Another difference between this year’s Conference and Conferences in the past is that the VALE Conference will not have a specific theme this year.
Rather than focusing on a theme, panels will be about specific locations. LVC alumni will join the Conference via Zoom from Los Angeles, New York and Nashville. They will discuss the state of the music and media industries in each location, like audio and effects for video games in Los Angeles.
“Attending the VALE Conference is a great opportunity to learn more about different industries and figure out different careers suitable for your interests,” Papson said.
Students interested in attending the seventeenth annual VALE Conference should follow @valemusicgroup on Instagram and Facebook for more information.