Month: May 2021

Graduated in 2019 with a major in Music Business. Principal instrument: bass guitar.

Position: Product Designer at Thesis, a digital marketing firm which specializes in building webpages in which consumer interest is converted to sales. As a designer, Yordani lays out these pages and optimizes them to to maximize sales potential, with many small changes being the norm.

Overview: While at Berklee Yordani was initially interested in EPD, but the experience of getting stiffed financially after working on a hit song convinced him to study business. He worked with Berklee ICE and was also doing tech-based side projects while in college. After graduating, he moved home to the DC area. got a job which claimed to be “digital marketing” but in fact was just selling cables on commission. Searching online, Yordani quickly got a different job, at a company that built websites for car dealerships. The pay was low, but it was good experience–until the pandemic hit.

By this point, Yordani decided he wanted to go into product design. He did a 5-month “boot camp” at Thinkful to get a certificate in UX/UI Design. Aware that it’s hard to get hired straight out of the program, Yordani was sure to do lots of side projects, as well as to show the confidence that he could do the job. He applied very widely, getting many rejections and two interviews–one of which led to his current job.
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You can see Yordani’s LinkedIn profile here.

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Choice Quotes: “I enjoy working in e-commerce, and learning about how to improve the experience for people. A connection to music was it was good to make people smile or cry with your music. It’s cool to help determine how people interact with their next purchase or medical experience.”

“If you want to go into product design, first learn the fundamentals. Start with proximitydesignschool.com There’s a 9-day course “theory sprint”. Figure out how to judge a design and understand it’s more than just art, and it’s more than just tech. Don’t get too bogged down in all the buzzwords. Get the fundamentals down first and realize a design is a design–you are using specific tools and mental frameworks to accomplish business goals. Also definitely real out to someone who’s doing it, including me!”

“At some point in my education I realized that I’m not just a musician, I’m a creative person.”

“When you’re onstage at Berklee and playing and the keyboard player changes the chords you need to be able to respond quickly to that. That creative framework serves me well every day. I’ll get a ticket and it might be unclear how to approach it, but those improvisational instincts are there to catch me before I fall.”

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See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.

Graduated in 1991, with a major in Professional Music. Principal instrument: voice.

Position: Pastor at Highrock Lexington, a Protestant / nondenominational church in Lexington, Massachusetts. It’s affiliated with roughly ten other Highrock churches, and they often collaborate on services and other functions. Rev. Robert Bloodworth is the one pastor at his church, providing the full range of support and ministerial services for his congregation.

Overview: Robert has a positive religious experience growing up, including receiving music instruction from his pastor and the pastor’s wife. Robert came to Berklee, and met his now-wife in the Berklee Christian Fellowship. Graduating during a recession, he moved home to Florida, working several jobs, but came back to Boston after a couple of years. He got a job at Berklee in the Admissions Office, and worked various staff jobs at Berklee for the next 15 years. He also got a side job as music director for Part St. Church’s Sunday service, which featured more contemporary music. This lasted a long time and eventually led to Robert leaving Berklee to become a full-time music minister in 2008. He ended up as one of 15 ministers at a very large church, and the only one without an advanced degree. Realizing he probably should get one, he entered Fuller Theological Seminary’s MA in Global Leadership program — it reminded him of Berklee, being very international and diverse.

In 2019, as Robert was nearly done with his program, his church was having financial difficulties and he and some other ministers were laid off. Robert questioned whether he could have a viable music career in the church, or whether his age would increasingly become an impediment. At the same time, he reached out to a senior pastor of High Rock church who informed Robert that the Lexington church needed a new pastor and he thought Robert would be perfect for the role. Robert took the role and has been there since, though he also plays a music role within the broader church.

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You can see Rev. Robert Bloodworth’s LinkedIn Profile here.

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Choice Quotes: “Over the last 8 years the most compliments weren’t about my music but about how appreciative of my pastor role I didn’t anticipate how quickly I would come to love the people in this church. I love being with these people. They go through struggles I’m privileged to be with people in situations, be their pastor, and to remind them that God is with them. (Not to help them avoid difficulties, but to be with them through it all.)”

“At this church I’m serving, we all have two areas of expertise. I’m community pastor, but also worship arts production. I do music every week. It’s not that my music has diminished, but it and my pastor duties have become like partners. I’m living the dream!”

“Things can change, but it’s important to have a goal. Start your career the first day of college, not the last.

“If you want to be a minister, there’s one thing I would advice you to never compromise on: It’s incredibly important to work at a place that feeds your soul. if the senior pastor is either not connecting well or is a bully to the church staff, run as fast as you can, even if it looks like a good opportunity on paper or the money is good. “

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See the full index of successful Berklee alumni.