Olivia was nominated for Vocational Student of the Year based on her completion of the Advanced Diploma of Music (Sound Production) at RMIT. The Advanced Diploma of Music (Sound Production) deepens students’ understanding of the significance of music and its role in professional practice.

During her studies, Olivia entered a prestigious 'Mix-Off' competition with Crystal Mastering. The competition was very competitive with university students from across Victoria invited to enter and had to demonstrate their expertise mixing a range of songs using the studio’s complex equipment. Olivia proved that she was highly skilled and won first place. Crystal Mastering were so impressed with Olivia’s skills during the competition that they have offered her a job over the next 12 months. This job is a significant archival project in which Olivia will demonstrate the skills she learnt during her advanced Diploma by converting analogue tapes into digital files.

Olivia’s passion for music started when she found her grandfather’s acoustic guitar when she was 10 and taught herself to play Australian band, Short Stack, songs on her guitar. She then progressed to playing the electric guitar. It is through her love of playing music, that Olivia first knew that she wanted a career in the music industry. It was not until she was in her final years of high school that Olivia started to deeply think about what she was going to study that she started to seriously think about what she could do within the music industry that she considered pursuing a behind-the-scenes role in the industry. It is after dabbling in sound production of herself playing guitar that she started to research possible courses that she could study to enable her to work as a sound production artist in the industry. She chose RMIT because of its location and reputation.

Olivia has learnt so much from studying the Advanced Diploma of Music (Sound Production). When she started, Olivia would only use software that she was familiar with, but the course has introduced her to other software which she became confident to use overtime. The course has opened Olivia’s mind to using technology and software that she was not aware of or did not have access to before. Prior to commencing the course, Olivia, a self-confessed introvert, preferred to work by herself. The Advanced Diploma has pushed Olivia outside of her comfort zone to work in teams.

From her time studying, Olivia has gained many friends and mentors in the industry. Most importantly, Olivia has gained a job working for a well-known music production company, Crystal Mastering because of studying the Advanced Diploma. Olivia has been recognised for her skills in sound recording and was awarded the RMIT College of Vocational Education Creative Industries Student of Year Runner Up award.