HOW UNC ASHEVILLE STUDENTS CHOOSE THEIR ACADEMIC PATHS

Majors Choices: Music to Your Ears

By UNC Asheville

December 13^th, 2021

We're taking a look into every major at UNC Asheville, from accounting to women, gender, and sexuality studies, across all disciplines. In this section, we’ll meet students who have found that exploring passions and taking a variety of classes within their major to help reach their dreams and you can too. We will be taking a deeper look into the students with these majors and their favorite pastimes.

Find Part 1 of this series here, and Part 2 here.

FRANCES MEHLENBACHER

Frances Mehlenbacher is a senior majoring in jazz and contemporary music with a minor in Africana studies.

Mehlenbacher has always been drawn to performing and playing music with a music degree of some sort.

“I originally looked into studying classical voice at other in-state institutions, and then realized that by going to UNCA I’d be able to study a wider array of genres outside of just classical music. I didn’t really listen to or play much jazz music at all before coming to college. However, studying jazz has really helped me in my other musical interests,” stated Mehlenbacher. “For example, I feel like I’ve been able to carry a lot of my jazz studies into my passion for songwriting and composing. I chose to get a minor in Africana studies because for the past four years or so I’ve been really interested in African American music history, ethnomusicology, and musicology. I've taken pretty much all of the music history classes offered at UNCA and felt like a minor in Africana studies fit in perfectly with my jazz studies and my interest in music history.”

She states her favorite class has been the Music Industry and Business courses because it felt very relevant to her music performance career, as well as the Harmony and Improvisation classes.

“I’ve been really grateful to make so many connections with other musicians in the department over the past few years. I didn’t realize prior to UNCA how many musicians I’d get to know through the department. Most of the people that I’ve gigged with, as well as my producers, are musicians who I've met through the department,” stated Mehlenbacher.

Mehelenbacher, who works part-time as a barista at Old Europe Pastries in downtown Asheville, encourages people pursuing the music degree to be deeply in love with music due to the discipline of all the required classes as well as the hours of practicing outside of the classroom. She has found that these challenging aspects have also made it more rewarding to see her hard work of practicing pay off in performances.

“I spend about 90% of my time in Lipinsky Hall (the music building). If I’m not in Lipinsky, I’m either in the library or Highsmith Student Union. I honestly love studying in the Lipinsky Lounge. However, recently I’ve been studying on the top floor of Ramsey Library and that’s been nice because of how quiet and empty it is,” said Mehlenbacher.

Mehelenbacher has been playing music, recording, and releasing her music for the past couple of years and she hopes to continue that after graduation while making more music with a band.

HOW UNC ASHEVILLE STUDENTS CHOOSE THEIR ACADEMIC PATHS

MAREN OLIVER

Maren Oliver is a senior majoring in management with a minor in mass communication.

“I chose my major because in high school I was involved in a club called DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) which sparked my love for business and management,” Oliver said. “I chose my mass comm as my minor because I think it paired nicely with management to give me the best opportunities after I graduate.”

Her favorite management class has been Legal and Ethical Environment with Marcus Harvey, associate professor of religious studies, while her favorite class in her mass communication minor has been a film studies class with Anne Slatton, senior lecturer of mass communication, looking at issues in the media.

“The most rewarding part of my major is that I know when entering the workforce, I will be well prepared and have had prior experiences because of the wonderful opportunities the University and Management Department have offered. The most challenging part of my major was taking classes over the summer while completing my internship with Freddie Mac,” said Oliver.

When she is not studying in the greenhouse she is spending her time at the Justice Center pool on campus as a member of the UNC Asheville swim and dive team. Oliver said she hopes to work for the management team for the PGA Tour, but in the meantime would like to work as a business analyst after she graduates.

“Both the Management and Mass Communication Departments have the best professors anyone could ask for! They are super supportive and want to see every student succeed. I truly am blessed to have been taught by all of the professors in each department,” Oliver stated.

JACK ST. JEAN

Jack St. Jean is a senior majoring in music technology.

“I was going to come here for either music composition or just a general music studies degree. That was until my campus tour guide, coincidentally also the studio manager at the time, gave me a tour of the music tech facilities. I didn't even know music tech was an option! I was already super interested in the technology side of music, so it was a no-brainer for me to join,” said Jean.

Jean assumed that most of the time in the major would be focused on the musical aspect of music techs, such as ear training with different effects like compression, distortion, or reverb. While there is plenty on that side, the majority of the program is learning about the physics behind how sound and electrical systems work, how gear like microphones and amps are wired, and how studios need to be built for the best acoustics.

“The most challenging part is definitely all the physics classes... I was never super good at math in high school so I was only focused on keeping my head above water during classes like Physics of Sound and Music. I think the most rewarding part has been being able to use and familiarize myself with the school's professional-level gear. You can watch YouTube videos of them all day but it doesn't compare to actually using the technology,” stated Jean.

Jean’s favorite class within the music program was Music Theory with Dr. Christine Boone, associate professor of music, because of the amazing lectures and allowed him to develop a deep interest in the subject—so much so that he is now a music theory tutor. His favorite class in the tech program has been Recording Studio Practicum, which is considered the “lab” for Audio Engineering Technology (AET) where they discuss topics such as how reverb or compression works in AET and explore their recording/mixing applications.

“There's a surprising amount of avenues within the umbrella of ‘music technology,’ and it's hard to pin down something I enjoy the most. The most obvious track would be working in a recording studio, but I can also be a mix engineer, mastering engineer, record/edit dialogue and foley for movies and games, build synthesizers or microphones, or even code virtual instruments! Whatever I end up doing, I'm at least hoping to be able to record my friend's and I’m music on the side,” Jean said.

Jean spends most of his time in Lipinsky, specifically the recording studio, mix room, and Moog Lab (room with a bunch of Moog synthesizers). He finds the best place to get work done is to study in the library, however, he states that he loves being in Lipinsky’s student lounge because he gets to interact with all his peers as they go to their classes, even if his productivity suffers a bit.

“We are learning about room acoustics this semester, and one thing that I thought was super interesting was room modes. Basically, in a square room, there are certain points where certain frequencies are either super loud or super quiet compared to other points in the room,” said Jean. “For example, in my roommate's and I's home studio, there is a room mode right where we sit at 130 Hertz. That means whenever we play the note C in that spot, it's super loud. But any other note sounds ‘normal.’ Different rooms are going to have different modes based on things like their dimensions and materials, so most rooms are unique!

PAULINA JONES

Paulina Jones is a senior majoring in environmental studies with a concentration in environmental management and policy (EMP) with a double-minor in biology and legal studies.

“I chose my major and minors because of my interest in wildlife conservation. The EMP major covers an immense breadth of environmental focal areas and requires classes in the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and economy. I was most drawn to this major because of its dynamicity and customizability,” stated Jones, who has been able to focus her classes around her interest in wildlife conservation, specifically.

“Minoring in biology reinforced the scientific, biological approach to wildlife conservation. Further, minoring in legal studies provided me with a fundamental understanding of how policy is created and implemented, and how research findings are used to inform and implement effective conservation policy,” Jones said.

Jones encourages people interested in environmental studies to be aware that there are many possibilities within this major, and that it is best to have an understanding of your long-term goals so that you can take classes that will help prepare you for those.

“The most challenging aspect of this major was the workload. Being a non-traditional, full-time student, I took 15-18 credit hours every semester. Most evenings and weekends were spent reading or writing papers,” said Jones. “The most rewarding part of my major was the feeling I’d get when, mid-way through the semester, I’d start seeing the interconnectedness of all the classes I was taking, regardless of their specific discipline. I have felt my brain’s capacity to synthesize information grow tremendously. Also, pursuing this degree has allowed me to practice applying wildlife conservation measures right on campus!”

Jones’s favorite class within her major was Strategies for Sustainability with Dr. Dee Eggers, associate professor of environmental studies, which pulled from many different disciplines to illustrate how the principles of sustainability can be applied in nearly every sector of human existence. Within her legal studies minor, she enjoyed Constitutional Law with Mark Gibney, Belk Distinguished Professor of Humanities and professor of political science, because it was incredibly challenging and interesting. Animal Behavior with Dr. Rebecca Helm, assistant professor of biology, was her favorite class within the biology minor because the hands-on labs and endless practice in scientific writing/applied biostatistics sharpened my ability to understand and interpret scientific studies.

“I was pleased to have the opportunity to learn how to preserve avian specimens (collected during my undergraduate research project) for the university’s biology and environmental studies collections. I was also able to test a novel lighting solution to reduce bird-window collisions at Rhodes-Robinson Hall. I was surprised and pleased that the sustainability council of UNC Asheville was willing to help make this project possible,” stated Jones.

She would like to use her education to serve as a basis for eventually implementing a policy that would allow for the public funding and operation of regional wildlife rehabilitation facilities across the state or nation.

“My parting advice is this: don’t be afraid to change the course of your academic journey. I started as an astronomy major at a community college in Seattle. I then dropped out and went to cosmetology school for a year. I left that program, moved back to North Carolina, and studied philosophy, then French, then biology at A.B. Technical Community College. Finally, I landed on environmental management and policy at UNC Asheville. It’s okay to be undecided. What matters is that you continue to try different things until you find what suits your interests,” stated Jones.

When she is not studying at the greenhouse or in Rhodes-Robinson Hall she enjoys occasionally making art and jewelry from the bones of roadkill and would like to become a certified taxidermist someday.