Adriana is a second year student in the Master of Arts Management program. With a background in Opera and vocal jazz performance, Adriana found her passion in coordinating and marketing jazz concerts and festivals.

Adriana is currently an intern at the Jazz Institute of Chicago where she promotes and markets events such as “Made in Chicago: World Class Jazz” concert series, The Jazz Club Tour, and the Chicago Jazz Festival.

“I tell everyone this story who asks me about my internship: When I first came to Chicago, I was with my mom and we went to the Chicago Jazz Festival at Millennium Park. I was so impressed and passionate about the music and whole performance, so I told my mom, ‘I really don’t care if it’s about lifting things or putting up signs, but I just want to be part of this.’ One year later, I was backstage at the Jay Pritzker’s Pavillion with the musicians, taking pictures, and managing the JIC’s Instagram account. It was a dream come true!”

One of the classes that has built Adriana’s skills in event management is the Club Management Practicum with Joe Bogdan. “We were able to create our own brand, “CCC Reggie’s Takeover”, and go through all kinds of functions, from talent booking to door flow control in order to make our events successful.”

Although Adriana has had experience with live event productions before Columbia, her internship and classes at Columbia have prepared her to be a more effective coordinator and be able to rationalize the logic used when making key decisions in event coordination.

“I believe that education must come from both inside and outside the classroom while being in school. Especially in the arts and entertainment industry, where most successful businesses start with a partnership, it is crucial to take every opportunity to network with the right people and build external professional relationships.”

After Columbia, Adriana plans to stay active with coordinating and marketing live events, including her ideal job with the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival in Cancún. We asked her if she had any advice for prospective students, what would it be. Her response was, “If you’re an artist or have a passion for the arts, there is no better place to study than Columbia College. Since we have a lot of resources to work with and we are able to focus our learning on our interests, Columbia provides great variety of classes and practicums in different areas of the arts.”