Alumni Focus:
Brian Lenihan '03
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From HWS to NHL . . . Throughout my time at HWS I had enjoyed my computer science classes, particularly those focused on 3D modeling, and graphic design. Not to say that debugging thousands of lines of code wasn't fun . . . but the creative front had always been where I excelled. I even did an independent study programming PONG for the Playstation2 system (running linux). Sometimes though, it's the little things that make the difference. During my sophomore year, my adviser (Professor Critchlow) had turned me onto a minor called "cognition, logic, and language" which at the time seemed a no-brainer, as I could share many of my major classes with my minor requirements. Also, Professor Eck was heading up the program, and after speaking with him I decided it would definitely be the way to go. As it would turn out, my minor may have affected the trajectory of my career path in a greater sense than my major. While I had always thought myself a talented musician, it took a minor class of mine, "mind and language" taught by Professor Baer to really give me confidence in my own musical abilities. In my final I analyzed music as a language, and music's influence on emotion - and given that it was senior spring I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when I ended up following the music. I had interned as an IT recruiter my junior summer, and saw the IT jobs in the US slowly drifting abroad, mainly to India. Domestic IT salaries were falling as well. This concerned me greatly as someone who as a high school senior saw college graduates with IT degrees earning almost 6 figures. By the time I graduated in 2003 that figure had dropped to the mid 30k range - the same as a Barista at Starbucks. Upon entering the real world and not seeing anything like the salary I had envisioned, I took up my true love - music. I began organizing weekly events in Manhattan and long story short, I became a professional house DJ and event planner by night and a bartender by day. Quite a lifestyle, but not exactly rolling in the dough. After tiring of the aforementioned lifestyle as well as the cut-throat politics that dominate the music industry, I found myself in South Florida in the fall of 2005 applying to work as an A/V tech at the BankAtlantic Center, home of the Florida Panthers. Although I was deemed "over-qualified", they took me on and I quickly learned the ins and outs of an arena ranked top 20 in the world by Pollstar. The logistics for one concert are mind boggling, let alone a 5 night stretch that runs hockey game, concert, professional lecture, hockey game, and concert. I was only with the building for 8 months, but the people I worked with taught me volumes. Nothing can beat hands on, real-world experience. My music background and computer related abilities didn't go unnoticed, and under a year after I started part time, the Director of Game Presentation brought me onboard in the front office as a video editor and music director. The somewhat dated Avid editing system was daunting at first, but it turned out that my audio editing and computer OS knowledge had me on top of the learning curve when it came to learning the video editing system. I spent July getting comfortable producing network quality video, and even doing animation and some 3d design as well. August and September were spent gearing up for the season which entailed totally retrofitting the way sound was delivered during hockey games via a new laptop, and new hardware interfaces. In addition, we produced as many of the commercials and interactive games as possible prior to opening night 
My first season practically flew by, sometimes with 3 home games in a week. During the season my day to day job can be downright chaotic. There are 3 of us full time on our staff, and we oversee a game night cast of about 40 people making sure the game runs smoothly, and that our fans leave the building with a smile on their face. From the anthem, to the goal song, to advertisers, everything needs to be tight and come off clean. Playing music for 18,000 fans can sometimes require nerves of steel - but I thrive on it. This summer we are retooling our production capabilities by adding a new Apple with dual quad core Intel xenon processors - the equivalent to a render farm from my college days - all in one box. The challenge now is to keep learning. Even technology and coursework from 4 years ago is far surpassed by today's technologies (Moore's Law anyone?), at a cost that makes it impractical for many educational institutions to keep up. For those of you that are still students, I have simple advice. Look at your professors as a wealth of knowledge - and question them. Try to study not only what you have to, but also what interests you. The same applies after you graduate. I cannot begin to tell you how many of my fellow graduates I talk to that hate getting up in the morning to go to work. This trap is avoidable. One thing I value the most from my experience at HWS is the ability to organize an independent study. By talking to your adviser or an appropriate professor, that coursework option lets you study things that interest you specifically. I participated in three in my four years at HWS, and perhaps nothing was more of an asset to my overall education.. When managed properly they can teach you time management, independence and responsibility - mainly because you are studying something that interests you. It takes some legwork, but trust me the payoff in the end is well worth it. IT Salaries are rebounding now as the domestic supply has dropped, so for those of you hoping to get into programming or network administration, positions with a decent salary are out there. If any of you find your way to south Florida and want to take in a hockey game, look me up. I can be reached at lenihanb@sselive.com ---From Brain Lenihan, '03
May 9, 2007
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