Successful Berklee Alumni #173: Jordan Lenhoff

Jordan Lenhoff

Listen to the interview (approx. 45 min.) or download it.

Graduated in 2009 with a major in Professional Music. Principal instrument: drums.

Position: Financial Assistant (staff accountant) at ACAS (Atlantic Coast Aircraft Services), a small company which operates three aircraft designed for custom flights to out-of-the-way destinations that often don’t have regular airports. Relatively new to the company, Jordan spends much of his time observing and learning, as well as preparing for the CPA exams. He also helps clean up the books and with payroll.

Overview: Prior to coming to Berklee, Jordan did four years in the Army. He finished Berklee in three years, and spent the next four touring with a band living with and helping take care of his grandparents when not touring. By the fourth year the band was slowing down, and Jordan needed to make more money, so after a long job search he took a job as a nursing assistant at the hospital where his mother worked. Jordan like the work and considered going back to school to be a Registered Nurse, but he hurt his back and, unable to lift patients, realized he needed a different career. By 2014 he was exploring other options and the more he learned about accounting, the more interesting it sounded. He was accepted into the Liberty University Online program for a Masters in Accounting and, after almost three years, completed his degree in the summer of 2017.

In 2015 Jordan got his first accounting-related job, working in the music industry for a company Rockit Cargo that handles freight for touring musicians and mostly doing accounts payable/receivable. It was a good job, but with no room for career growths, so by 2019 he was looking online for new opportunities. He applied to the position at ACAS, and his military experience plus experience in logistics made him a very attractive candidate, and he was hired into his current job in April, 2019.

You can see Jordan’s LinkedIn profile here.

Choice Quotes: “I enjoy business. I enjoy learning the ins and outs of how businesses work. Accounting was something every business depends on — providing a service they all rely on. There’s a demand for it, and it’s a way to provide a stable career, and it makes a valuable contribution and keeps a business accountable and honest.”

“If you’re not 100% ready to do whatever you need to do for a music career, find another career to make a living while you’re doing music. I’ve seen people do music only and be successful, which is great, but many others don’t get that opportunity. Figure out early on, ideally in college, if music really is for you. And if not, figure out what your career can be.”

“At the end of the day I can confidently know that I don’t regret going to Berklee. I loved being there. I’m a better person for it. It was such a great experience. Life is a journey. Things can turn out very differently from what you planned for.”
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See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.