Neil Margeson Sound Scholarship

When I first saw the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I was astounded by the different sound effects and music, which were integral and helped make the story incredible. From that moment, I knew I wanted to work in some aspect of sound creation. Because of this inspiration, I asked the leaders of my church's Audio/Visual department if I could learn how to use the soundboards and live mixing for the worship service. They initially said no because of my age, but because of that, I worked hard on my own to reach the point where I could be a valuable member of the audio team when I was of age. During those years, from middle school to this past summer, I learned everything I could to prepare me to become a great at audio engineering in the future. In elementary school, I learned to play clarinet, so I continued to become an expert by practicing it daily. I also asked for old guitars and a bass that people in my neighborhood would throw away and learned how to read bass clef sheet music and play the instruments. I was also introduced to my first digital audio workspace, SoundTrap, where I practiced sound mixing, recording, and editing to be prepared to join my Audio/Visual team in church. By the time I was in high school, I was participating in miscellaneous audition-based honors ensembles and competition bands on bass and clarinet, as well as taking AP Music Theory to further advance my musicianship skills. When I got my first job, I used the money to buy Pro Tools Ultimate. I learned how to use ProTools Ultimate coupled with Audio University videos, which taught me how to use compression and equalizers and mix, record, and master in professional quality workspaces. Because of my dedication and work, when I asked again this past summer for a position at the soundboards, I was accepted, and I am currently in training to run the soundboards and help in live sound mixing for services and the YouTube stream. Though I am interested in all aspects of audio engineering, my main desired field is audio post-production engineering. To reach this career goal, I applied to eight programs that would prepare me successfully. Because of my dedication and hard work, I was admitted into all the programs I applied to, including my top choice, the University of Rochester. This program's Music and Audio Engineering curriculum has many different opportunities to improve me as a performer through studying at the Eastman School of Music, a highly regarded music program, while also being an accredited program by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. Through research, I found that the course also has specific audio techniques and electronics classes to teach students how to edit and manipulate audio through techniques like ADR and learn many different types of digital audio workspaces. I fully believe that an education of this caliber will prepare me for a successful career as an audio engineer through the program's focus on musicianship coupled with sound design, which will set me apart from my peers when I look to apply for jobs. Sound and audio have shaped my entire life thus far, and I am dedicated to making it my career. Once I gain a college education in the field, I will fully be prepared to be an audio post-production engineer for movies and other media like the ones that inspired me. I also hope to inspire others to build audio engineering and sound design careers.