Delaney Morris – Live & Performing Arts Management – Business & Entrepreneurship

Meet Delaney Morris, a Live & Performing Arts Management major with a minor in Cultural Studies here at Columbia College Chicago. In this student spotlight, Delaney talks about her future goals and how certain professors have helped her prepare for the future.

What is your Major?

Delaney: Live & Performing Arts Management with a minor in Cultural Studies

What are your goals for being in this program?

Delaney: I hope to one day create a company that produces benefit concerts for natural disaster relief around the world.

What classes have helped (or are helping) you to achieve that?

Delaney: Percussion Ensemble introduced me to CCAP where I played in the Muertos de la Risa parade in my freshman and sophomore year and then got hired by ElevArte to be a teaching artist for Carnaval (Spring 2014) and the Assistant Parade Director for Muertos de la Risa (Fall 2014).

In International Arts Management I began to learn what it takes to make events happen worldwide.

In Covering International Festivals: Iceland I traveled to Iceland to cover the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival for WCRX 88.1 FM and WCRXfm.com

In Club Management: Practicum HAUS I had the roles of Marketing and Programming lead putting; on shows in HAUS.

In Events Management: Practicum Block 37 I had the roles of General Management and Operations; putting on shows in the Pedway of Block 37.

In Club Management: Practicum Reggies I had the roles of General Management, Talent Buyer, Marketing Lead, Sound & Door; putting on shows in Reggies’ various venues.

Why did you choose Columbia’s Business & Entrepreneurship program, and how do you think this program will create personal growth within your future career?

Delaney: Honestly, before finding Columbia I had no idea what it is I was going to major in. I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but I did not know how to get there. In my junior year of high school I attended a college fair where I was looking at schools that I was familiar with like Boston University or the University of Maryland. But each rep I spoke with had no idea of how I would fit in to any majors available in the respective schools.  Then, my mom saw Columbia’s table as we were leaving. I wish I remembered who the man was at the booth, because I would like to thank him for changing my life. I had never heard of Columbia before that day, but he saw something in me, believed in the vision I had for my future and told me this is the school I belong at. Picking my major came later as I discovered what Columbia truly had to offer over the course of that next year in high school.

The Business & Entrepreneurship program has already sparked so much growth towards my future career. Not only have the core classes developed my skills in the business world, but also all of the practicums have especially accelerated my knowledge and love of the industry.

Are there any particular professors who have made a significant impact on you? How?

Delaney: Joe Bogdan: I first met Joe, second semester of my freshman year at Columbia (Spring 2013). I met him through the class Business of Live & Performing Arts. Already from that initial class I knew that he would be a great mentor for the future and I had hoped to reconnect with him but at the time,  being a freshman, I did not really do anything to stand out. Fall 2014 I signed up for my first and second practicum classes. Club Management: Practicum @ HAUS and Events Management: Practicum @ Block 37, both with Joe as the professor. Then in the Spring 2015 semester I signed up for my third practicum with Joe, Club Management: Practicum @ Reggies. Each class was very different, but in a way that I was able to experience so much with live performances. In the Block 37 class he inspired us to think of a way to earn revenue from performances and I thought of involving CCAP (Center for Community Arts Partnership at Columbia) to be our outlet for any money earned. He loved the idea and allowed it to run. In my club classes I was able to experience the pressures of putting on events in a Columbia setting (lower pressure) and putting on events with an outside venue (higher pressure). Joe has given me the confidence to make events happen in each of these settings and I want to thank him for allowing me the opportunity to work with these outside venues, and not just within Columbia’s walls.  He is constantly pushing his students to be the best they can and produce work that is better than average.

Althea Legaspi: Fall 2013, in my sophomore year I took Writing for Managers with Althea Legaspi. Our first assignment of the class was to send her an introduction e-mail and tell her a little bit about ourselves. I sent her an e-mail saying that I love music and travelling. The next class she pulled me aside for a moment and told me about another class she teaches called Covering International Festivals: Iceland. She basically said that I would love this class and the next time it is offered (Fall 2014) I should apply to take. Well, over the course of the semester our friendship grew. We spoke about many different things and I truly came to admire Althea as a professional and a teacher. Spring of 2014 I applied for the course, (this course travels to Iceland for a week in November and covers the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival for WCRXFM 88.1, and WCRXfm.com, which is a part of Columbia’s radio department.) Needless to say I was accepted and Fall of 2015 I worked harder than I have ever worked before. Althea pushed not only myself, but also all of my classmates to produce a fantastic body of work. I had never written anything remotely like what I did in that class. I was not a Journalism Major or a Radio Major, but she helped me through and took me on a trip of a lifetime. Not only has she provided me with the once in a lifetime trip to Iceland, she also hooked me up with Riot Fest in September of 2014, where I was an Artist Relations Intern. Overall, I want to say thank you to Althea for seeing something in me, when you only barely knew me and for believing in me enough to put me up to all of those challenges both at Columbia and beyond.

What other career related interests do you have?

Delaney: I am very much interested in the production of festivals & parades along with my love for producing concerts/shows. Festivals I have been involved with included Firefly Music Festival (Volunteer, June 2013), Riot Fest (Artist Relations Intern, September 2014) and Iceland Airwaves Music Festival (Press, November 2014). The parades I have been involved with include Manifest’s Great Convergence (Percussion Ensemble member May 2013 & 2014) Muertos de la Risa (Percussion Ensemble member November 2012 & 2013 and Assistant Parade Directory Fall 2014) Evanston 4th of July (Evanston Escola de Samba member) and coming soon I will be a student producer on a Halloween parade happening this upcoming fall. I hope to be able to work on things like this in the future because each of the experiences above have each been such a blast and a great learning experience.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Delaney: In five years I see myself…well, I’m not sure really. Hopefully I am at a point where my life is stable enough to settle down. But on the same token I hope I am not necessarily settling down. I want the next five years to be full of fantastic adventures around the world involving food, music & people from every walk of life. I want to have worked on many different projects and worked with many different people. I want to experience all that the world has to offer and at the same time enjoy this world with a family or at least be thinking about a family in five years time.