Audio Arts and Acoustics Student Awarded Scholarship to Travel To New York City for Audio Engineering Conference

Campus Communications Staff / Nov 14, 2023

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The Audio Engineering Society and Arup, a global consulting firm, gives Senior Jesus Reyes their Diversity in Audio Scholarship.

The Audio Engineering Society, in partnership with the global built environment consulting firm Arup, recently awarded their Diversity in Audio Scholarship to Audio Arts and Acoustic student Jesus Reyes. This scholarship supports underrepresented voices in the industry and provides an opportunity for students to connect with and learn from leaders in the audio engineering profession.  

As part of the scholarship, Reyes attended the Audio Engineering Society’s (AES) convention in New York City this October where he experienced learning opportunities via workshops and demonstrations as well as mentorship and career guidance from a consultant with Arup’s audiovisual theatre department.  

“It was awesome to see what a day is his work life is like. He [the consultant] was working on such a variety of acoustic-related issues,” Reyes says. “It was very encouraging to know that positions like that exist, a job where you can be handed an audio-related problem to solve and grow daily through research and application.” 

Reyes heard about the scholarship from Audio Arts and Acoustics Chair Ben Sutherland who wrote him a letter of recommendation.  

“In advising and mentoring Jesus, I found him to be inquisitive and open-minded, highly motivated, and personable,” Sutherland says. “These qualities seemed an ideal fit for the scholarship.”  

Sutherland was honored to have Reyes representing AAA at the AES Convention, and Reyes appreciated the experience as it provided the Audio Design and Production major an up-close view of the breadth of careers available to audio professionals.  

“There is a huge world of audio out there – product design, programming, and music production just to cover a few.” 

As for the scholarship’s goal to promote diversity in audio professions, Reyes loves that the contributions of underrepresented groups to the industry are acknowledged as an asset.  

“It's a mutually beneficial exchange,” he says. “Students from underrepresented communities have a lot to offer.”  

 

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