UMBC Mic'd Up
UMBC Mic'd Up
From Music to Media - A Graduate's Journey Through UMBC's EIL Program
Join us as we chat with Thomas Jasmine, M.P.S. ’24, a recent graduate of UMBC's Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Leadership (EIL) program. In this inspiring interview, Thomas shares his journey from earning a bachelor's in music technology to building a thriving business as a media specialist. Discover how the EIL program transformed his perspective, equipped him with practical skills, and expanded his professional opportunities. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or curious about the power of leadership and innovation, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss!
Learn more about the EIL program:
https://umbc.edu/eil
Dennise Cardona 0:00
Hey. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of UMBC Mic'd Up podcast. My name is Dennise Cardona from the Office of Professional Programs, and I am here with a special guest, Thomas Jasmine, a recent graduate of the entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership master's program here at UMBC. Thomas, it is fantastic to have you here with us today.
Thomas Jasmine 0:22
It's fantastic to be here. Thank you. Dennise.
Dennise Cardona 0:24
I hear that you are also an under you graduated with your bachelor's from UMBC as well.
Thomas Jasmine 0:30
Yes, I did. I graduated with my bachelor's in music technology with the music program. Shout out to Alan Wonneberger. I'm a musician by heart into the arts, you know, the music side and the media and entertainment side.
Dennise Cardona 0:45
So that sounds fascinating. It sounds like a really fun way to just enjoy the journey of life.
Thomas Jasmine 0:53
Very much, just, you know, being able to create and also hopefully earn a living with it.
Dennise Cardona 0:58
So, yeah, that is the two of those would be just the ideal way to make a living. So, yes, absolutely. So what inspired you to pursue your master's degree in the the entrepreneurship, innovation leadership program? And why did you, why did you choose UMBC for this journey?
Thomas Jasmine 1:15
So, you know, I actually originally never had any, you know, I never had a desire to actually continue my education. The main thing that really got me into pursuing a master's in the first place is just the UMBC community. Being there as an undergrad, I still was very involved with them. After I graduated, I was DJing a lot of events and still helping out with a lot of organizations. And it was people like Jen Dress and Simon Reilly within the Office of Campus, the Office of Student Affairs, that kind of gave me that push and encouragement to just look at higher education, and gave me opportunities to so when I started looking, I was like, well, you know, I wanted to deal with my with my undergrad degree, but not completely be the same. And I've been running this business for at the time about six, seven years, and wanted to expand it, so I started looking up MBA programs and really discovered this entrepreneurship program here at UMBC, and I felt it was so unique and different that it just kind of spoke to me as an individual, I like to be, you know, slightly different, you know, not just go the same path as everybody else. And once I kept looking into it, I started to fall in love with the program and decided to give it a try.
Dennise Cardona 2:34
Oh, that's great, absolutely. Can you tell us a little bit about what you are doing right now? You mentioned that you're delving into something. Let's hear all about that. How did that happen? Where is it right now? Where are you on your journey?
Thomas Jasmine 2:48
So at heart, I am an entrepreneur. I call myself a media specialist. So during my undergrad, I got to learn how to be an audio engineer and a music producer and even an artist to some sorts, but it also gave me the opportunity to dive into videography, production of television, production of podcasts, photography, all of these different aspects. So luckily, I've been able to combine all of these things and create, you know, at least a part time income right now, and that's where that master's program kind of came in and has given me the vision and the path to hopefully take that part time income and make it full time.
Dennise Cardona 3:32
Yes, absolutely. So you and I share very much the same passion vein in terms of videography, podcasting, things of that sort. It is a fun world to be in, and it creates such great opportunities. With podcasting, I get to speak to people from all different walks of life there meaning like they're different, life pathways, that career aspirations, the things that they're doing and putting out into the world. And you get to learn things from people sharing things. What is your experience with videography and podcasting and that whole storytelling aspect of it?
Thomas Jasmine 4:07
You know, you just kind of hit the nail on the head when it comes to storytelling. I always feel like everybody has their own individual story, their own unique way of being able to tell things and their own unique experience. So I've loved the opportunity to speak to people, especially as a person who has a certain skill in being able to make them feel comfortable. You know, we get to just have a nice, casual conversation, almost as if the cameras weren't even there, and truly dive into what they can say, you know, uniquely to them. As far as videography, it's given me this aspect. I'm much better at videography than photography. Actually. Shout out to all my people that can get still images. Shout out to my main photographer, Alonzo. But when it comes to that moving picture, the moving image, capturing beauty in motion is. Given me that ability to kind of capture human life just from a different lens or a different angle, or be able to look at it from a different perspective. And these things, you know, such as podcasting and videography, they truly fulfill me.
Dennise Cardona 5:16
You know, something interesting that with the whole storytelling aspect and even your subjects being comfortable behind a camera. Before COVID, the experience I had was in person filming, and people were much they just weren't comfortable talking speaking about their experiences on camera. But now, with the whole the whole pandemic, and everybody being online, being in front of a camera constantly, if you you know you had a job that made you, that created that, that need to be able to be in front of a camera. And now I find that interviewing people in a podcast, video podcast is is really fun and fulfilling and such a better experience because people are fully engaged in it. They're not uncomfortable with it like they were in the beginning with COVID, before COVID.
Thomas Jasmine 6:03
No, I definitely, I definitely agree with it is there's definitely been a lot of you know downsides to to that pandemic, of course, that we know. But people becoming more comfortable with just like speaking to each other through technology and even speaking in front of the camera around that time is when I was was comfortable behind the camera, you know, being able to instruct people and get the best out of them. But around that pandemic time is when I finally was like, Okay, I do need to show my face more. I need to be more comfortable with people seeing and understanding my perspectives and my thoughts, and it gave me opportunity to really fine tune those skills.
Dennise Cardona 6:42
Now, before joining the EIL program, what were your professional goals and how have they evolved throughout your time at UMBC?
Thomas Jasmine 6:49
You know, before joining that master's program, I think I solely focused on music and the music side. So I wanted to be a music producer a la Quincy Jones and produce albums and be inside the studio with the artist and help them create their best products. Since, you know, joining the IL program, it kind of opened up my eyes to more possibilities. So I changed from just wanting to be a music producer to that media specialist role that I talked about and in capturing all different types of media I want to instead of owning a music studio, I would like to own like a multimedia complex where we're producing video podcasts, to the point that hopefully I'll be able to produce daily content, such as news and such as storylines and such and such like that, one of my inspirations being Tyler Perry in the studios that he has in Atlanta. So it's definitely expanded my mind and even my professional opportunities as well. Getting that masters brought different career perspectives, like next year, I plan on taking a short stint into maybe the corporate world and getting, like, a project management job just like it, you know, widen my my skill set, widen my experiences, secure my money a little bit more, and, you know, figure out new ways to expand my business.
Dennise Cardona 8:16
That's the important thing about when you when you're in a master's program. Some, some of the things I experienced were things like realizing that there were things you didn't realize you didn't know right before, before being in this master's program, before taking specific courses. And what that does is it opens up, it just opens up opportunities and different ways of viewing things. And I love your perspective of going out there and putting yourself, immersing yourself in something you know, like project management, is a needed skill for any kind of an entrepreneur. You need to know how to manage things and manage people, manage products, move it down the pike. And as a business owner, that's going to be paramount to you. It's, it's, sounds like that's a really great decision.
Thomas Jasmine 9:00
Yeah, I definitely appreciate it. I've been able to get very far, you know, on my own and building my own business, but I feel like there's some things I could definitely learn from the corporate side in that world. Like I said, hopefully just for a short stint, I always want to encourage people that whatever they do as a job, hopefully that is putting in and leading them towards their career and their dreams as well.
Dennise Cardona 9:26
Yeah, that's true. And now, can you share a specific project or class or experience from the program that had a profound impact on your learning or your career aspirations?
Thomas Jasmine 9:38
You know, I think when it comes to that EIL program, where one of the first things that, you know comes into play with that program is it's completely online program, which is great for a variety of students, and allowing us to, you know, work with our schedules and be able to do things from from home. We had students that were honestly joining in from all across the world. At times, from Italy to Africa. I got to meet a lot of people across the world, but the best experience from the program is probably the professors themselves. All of them aren't just, you know, your typical professor that may have done research in the field and such. They all are entrepreneurs themselves that have had plenty of businesses and were giving us real life experience of the multi million dollar deals that they were working on right there and then, or the investments that they were having. Something that come to mind is like Carol Bogash, who my last class with her was completely on teamwork. And when I started that course, I'm like, I know all about teamwork. That's fine. When I ended that course, I'm like, you know, teamwork is a much bigger subject than the Word gives off. Or my other professor, Carl Douglas, who I only got the chance to have one class with I couldn't even tell you the name of that class anymore. However, the way that that man made me feel it made the class feel, was immaculate, as well as the fact that he was so willing to give us information. After the second class, I asked him to talk to me. Afterwards, I asked him to be a mentor of mine, and he was willingly obliged, met up with me, my family over time, and just poured so much into me and my business that I could never thank him enough.
Dennise Cardona 11:30
Oh, I had a similar experience with someone from my program that I graduated from at UMBC, became my mentor and really good friend. And same thing brought me under his wing and brought me to places in my career that I just never could have dreamed of without that kind of help and that kind of guidance. So mentoring, mentorship such a critical part of career development. Professional Development for all those listening in, if you have the chance of having a mentor, well, if you, even if you don't have that chance, go find that chance, because that will be a difference maker.
Thomas Jasmine 12:06
Yes, seeking out that mentor is very important. And honestly, I'm a person about, you know, giving paying it forward as well. So once you get to a certain point and you have had your mentors, finding people that you can mentor yourself and passing it on to the next generation.
Dennise Cardona 12:23
Yeah. How did the program equip you with practical skills to tackle say, you know, things that you're going to come across in entrepreneurship or leadership? Are there any tools or methodologies that you now use regularly, that you learned from the program?
Thomas Jasmine 12:38
Yeah, so the first thing I would say is, you know, we're currently in the social media era where there are a lot of business owners kind of building it from the bottom to the top. You know, doing their own marketing, doing their own expenses and balances and, you know, incomes, outcomes. We're using a lot of apps and a lot of, you know, technology that is available to us, but we're kind of just learning through YouTube, for the most part, YouTube, Tiktok, social media. So the first thing I could definitely say is it just gave me the, you know, tangible books to read that, you know, from 20 years ago to things that were produced just last week from top entrepreneurs in the industry that just gave me a wealth of knowledge that I didn't have before. I'd also say, as far as, like, you know, certain concepts, such as those balance sheets and stuff we we definitely had those financial courses. When I spoke about project management, we had a project management course. And although I didn't, you know, get my project management certificate through that course, I already know that I have all the tools available to get a and I'm pursuing it this month, once again, just to have it, because I already have all the knowledge and the tools to do so. I also think, you know, just the different routes. And one of the best things about going to class with other entrepreneurs is just the ideas that other people who are like minded can spark. So in our undergrad studies, you know, it's a very generalized study for the most part, and maybe you start to get into the depths of your specific subject as the years go on, as you're in your junior and senior year. From a master's standpoint, we were, you know, directly in that subject of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership from day one. So talking to people who were like minded, who had the same interests, all of these things just kept adding to that wealth of knowledge. I spoke of, it's a very great environment where iron sharpens iron. Essentially.
Dennise Cardona 14:46
Have you had the opportunity to apply what you've learned in the program to a real world project or venture? And if so, can you share some of those highlights?
Thomas Jasmine 14:55
I'd say absolutely, even throughout the program, I was applying. Adding these, you know, these ideas and these methods daily as I already own my business. I already have a LLC, Soul Vision LLC. And, you know, while I was doing my master's program, I still had the time to put in the time for my business. One real world example is as a DJ, one of the things that is important is marketing. But a lot of us don't really necessarily think of marketing because we post to our social media, you know, for for reviews and for likes and comments, and it is a form of marketing. But the program taught me how to more directly market to target audiences. A great example, I typically average maybe about one to three weddings a year that I DJ. Just speaking to my professor, Jeremy Steinberg, I was able to realize there are certain times of years where people need certain DJs for certain things, such as, if I start marketing my DJing or promoting my DJing services around the months of let's say February, March, April, to an audience that includes, we'll Say parents that have teenagers, you know as children, that means I'm marketing towards parents that are looking for DJs for graduation parties or I believe there's a statistic that most people get engaged between the months of, let's say, August and November. I believe if I start marketing during that time, then I'm now marketing to an audience that will need wedding DJs for the upcoming year. Things like that have helped me increase those, that wedding number, those graduation party numbers, and essentially add more revenues to my pocket.
Dennise Cardona 16:55
Indeed, marketing is a huge animal. I mean, that's what I'm in marketing for UMBC, and it's, I've been in marketing for 20 some odd years, and it is such a fun field because there are just so many different aspects of it. It's not just a one done thing. There's so many different ways to reach people, and it is an art and a science, and it's something that is so fun to dig into. So as entrepreneurs, it's really important to be able to know how to tell your story, how to tell your business's story, your venture story, because that right there is a driver of your marketing, of your whole marketing. How has the program helped you approach innovation and leadership differently in your current role or in your entrepreneurial ventures?
Thomas Jasmine 17:41
When it comes to innovation, it's allowed me to that part is the one where it's allowed me to really tap into my creativeness and my personal creativeness, really creativity my I've always been able to unlock people's potential In their creativity, but unlocking my own has been a challenge. So being able to look at what I do and how I could maybe give it to the world in a different aspect or or different from the rest of the people, even different from the clientele that I work with. How can I make it mine personally, and how can I distribute it in a way that, you know, kind of reaches the crowd, just in a unique way. As far as leadership, I've been able to I always was a, you know, not to too my own horn, a decent leader, you know. But it definitely just expanded and gave me more tools to work with, more ways to connect with people, more understanding on those interpersonal connections and making sure the people that are working with me feel listened to, feel heard, feel acknowledged and feel valued everybody wants to feel valued within a project looking at different companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, seeing what works with those companies and making all of their, you know, employees feel more invested in the projects and things as that has helped me in the way that I run my businesses.
Dennise Cardona 19:15
Fantastic. So now that you graduated, what are your next steps? What do you plan? How do you plan to leverage your degree in entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership moving forward?
Thomas Jasmine 19:28
So, you know, as as I graduated, I am still currently DJing with UMBC, the men's and women's basketball team about to enter, you know, my final season with them. Because, you know, it's been about six years, but it's time to move on to some different opportunities. One of those opportunities being that I'm gonna start DJing with Carnival Cruise. Carnival cruises on their cruise ships.
Dennise Cardona 19:52
Wow, that's so fun.
Speaker 1 19:53
Thank you. Thank you. And some of those are more personal goals and just, you know, goals to celebrate the. Accomplishment that I had. But what the degree is really going to allow me to do is create, you know, business strategy plans and marketing plans while I'm, you know, taking these personal journeys and figuring out things. So the main thought, and the main, you know, goal is that my business doesn't stay dormant while I'm even away from this state or from here, physically, it's given me tools to be able to plan accordingly and make sure everything is still running and my clientele know that they can contact me and I can still get them in the right place and such. It's also, I think I spoke about that project management job that I'm looking towards with companies such as IBM and, you know, different sports teams and such, it's given me just this opportunity and landscape to be able to take this entrepreneur, entrepreneurial role where I had a really narrowed thought, you know, narrow thought process, of where I could take it. And it was, oh, it's all on me. And it just gave me this expanded idea that now the world is kind of my oyster. You know, in a sense, I feel like I could take it anywhere, you know, I know I can still, at the end of the day, build my business, but I'll be able to, you know, kind of apply to any job, and they're gonna ask me, Hey, what is, what does this mean? What is, what's entrepreneurship? What's innovation in leadership? And I think this is one of those degrees that I can honestly tailor towards anything. And they're gonna at least recognize that whatever job they need done, I have the skills to do.
Dennise Cardona 21:39
So that's a really great outlook. Thank you. What advice would you give to prospective students who are considering this program, or to someone embarking on a similar career path in entrepreneurship and leadership?
Thomas Jasmine 21:56
I think the advice I'd give to them is a degree like this is what you make of it. So, because I put so much time and energy into making sure to understand the material, to really consume and, you know, take in and taking these lessons for myself, because I spent the energy and getting to know my professors and the students around me, and even finding ways to interact with them outside of class. Everything's virtual, like I said, so finding opportunities to support my classmates in real life situations, or just meet up with them so we could finally meet face to face and have a lunch and be real people together. I feel, I really honestly feel, because I put so much time into that it's given so much back to me. And that's the magic of a program like this. There are, if you're looking for a program that's gonna maybe, like, tailor make the job for you, you know, oh, I'm I go to an engineer program to be an engineer. I wouldn't say this one is for you, but if you are looking for the possibilities, for if you have a dream of your own, or just an idea that you want to develop, this is something that can really allow you to pursue and take it to a whole other level that you may have never imagined. I think that's what makes us as powerful as you know as you want it to be.
Dennise Cardona 23:30
Yeah, absolutely indeed. Thomas, thank you so much for this conversation. It's so fun. I love talking about these kinds of things, music, video, podcasting, aspirations, just opening up the mind to different opportunities and different different vantage points that were never really there in your mind before showing up and doing the hard work and and putting yourself in that seat to be able to take advantage of these kind of great opportunities in front of you.
Thomas Jasmine 23:59
Yeah, absolutely I have to, I'm going to forever be grateful, not only to this program, but to UMBC for opening these opportunities to me, because I think they're where I wanted to go before, and where my dreams may have been limited to, has completely expanded. And you know, it's only up from here.
Dennise Cardona 24:18
Powerful statement, thank you so much, Thomas and thank you so much to everybody for listening into this episode of UMBC Mic'd Up podcast. If you'd like to learn more about our offerings, click the link in the description you.