Full Sail grad Aujahn Dixon recently earned a Recording Arts bachelor’s degree on campus. Originally from Oceanside, California, Aujahn moved across the country to Florida to attend Full Sail, and while he was here, he worked hard to make the most of his time on campus. We recently spoke to him to see what advice he would give to new campus students about how they can also maximize their time at Full Sail.

Before You Start

One of the first big decisions you’ll likely have to make is deciding where to live. Aujahn says Full Sail’s Housing department helps new students find apartments close to campus and can help match them with roommates.

“You definitely want to make sure you and your roommate are similar,” he says. “Everyone's a creative here. So, regardless, you'll be with someone who's a creative.”

Plus, Full Sail offers a Behind the Scenes Tour for each of its degree programs. These events provide a hands-on introduction to the coursework and – almost as importantly – an overview of the campus layout. These include a tour tailored to a student’s desired area of study as well as opportunities to interact with program directors and alumni. Before starting the Recording Arts program, Aujahn took a Behind the Scenes Tour on Film and highly recommends all students participate in these tours.

“It was amazing because I'm honestly more interested in post-production sound [for video projects] now as opposed to even recording [music] artists,” he shares. “It also showed me the campus as a whole and where I would be spending my time.”

Because he had an open mind about his education, Aujahn quickly learned that a detour from his initial career plan was a smart move.

“I was trying to be an artist,” he recalls. “However, I realized that the approach that I was thinking for long-term longevity, it wouldn't have been wise to continue to pursue a music career because of the difficulty behind it. Full Sail made me appreciate… not being in the spotlight. I would much rather prefer being in the background.”

Make the most of the campus facilities.

The Full Sail campus boasts more than 110 studios and labs where students get lots of hands-on experience with industry-standard tools. Aujahn spent time in several facilities around campus, including Studios A and B, the Mix Palace, and the Audio Temple.

“I enjoyed getting to use large, expensive consoles that engineers who work in the industry use.”

Attend class and work ahead.

Full Sail’s accelerated courses mean you can complete your education faster. But this also means it’s even more important to go to class, stay organized, and work ahead when possible.

“Attending class is so important because catching up is much harder than staying ahead. If you have a class where you're able to unlock modules before, do that. Do not procrastinate… because it is not hard to get left behind,” he shares.

He also recommends consistently checking email and keeping up with Full Sail One, the primary portal for students.

“Full Sail One helped me stay punctual,” he says.

Get to know your instructors and peers.

According to Aujahn, all of his instructors had a big impact on what he learned because he got to know them well and asked lots of questions in class.

“Every single [instructor] was very, very insightful and helpful. Truthfully, I hardly understood how to record audio… and now I feel like I have a great grasp of operating Pro Tools and ended up getting my certification.”

Another important tip is to connect with fellow students to support and hold each other accountable. This means working together on projects and creating study groups; however, Aujahn says to make sure you’re selective about the students with whom you’re collaborating.

Take full advantage of career fairs and networking opportunities.

There are numerous career fairs and networking events on campus throughout the year. There are also several student clubs that host open mic nights, movie nights, cultural festivals, and other fun social events.

“I recommend people in general try things outside of their [comfort zone],” he says. “I recommend approaching everybody because you never know the potential with them.”

For career fairs, he says it’s necessary to have several versions of your resume in hand. His Career Development advisor provided him with resume templates for various industries.

Networking with other students can sometimes lead to opportunities after graduation as well.

“Those are people that you've already been building up a rapport with for over two years,” he says. “One of my classmates might end up having some freelance work [for me]. Full Sail truly allowed me to have pretty much the mindset to just simply retain connections… keep all potential contacts that you have in your back pocket because you really never know when [they] could be utilized.”

Hard work pays off.

While still a student, Aujahn and his girlfriend launched their own business, True Vision Studios. The agency specializes in talent casting and branding for a variety of clients and even worked on a movie set for a film where actor Owen Wilson was present. Aujahn says Full Sail’s unique approach to education combined with the many networking opportunities helped prepare him to ultimately work in this area.

“If you want to challenge yourself and you want to give yourself the best potential chance, I would definitely come to Full Sail just because there's nothing like it.”