Resume

Asia Miiko Stormy Holt
Temporary 933 W.Broad St. ~ Richmond VA, 23220
Permanent 1042 Clipper Dr. ~ Hampton VA, 23669


Phone Contact Email Contact
(757)719-3452 Holtam2@vcu.edu



Experience
• Colonial Williamsburg Foundation-(2005-2007)
Co-host for children’s television history: program was seen nation wide.

• Colonial Downs-(summer2005)- customer service


Education
• Virginia Commonwealth University, Mass Communication/ Broadcast Journalism-(expected graduation May 2011)


Membership/Leadership
• Group Moda Fashion show
Helped organized Group Moda pre-show 2008
Model 2008, 2009
• STRUT fashion week committee
• STRUT model 2009
• APB entertainment committee (volunteer) 2009
• UPLIFT entertainment (promotions) 2008, 2009
• National Honor Society (High School)-Vice President-45 hours of community service over two years
• Percussion section leader (High School Band)
• Captain of women’s track team (High School)



Skills
• Microsoft Word
• PowerPoint
• Sound slides plus
• Audacity
• AP style
• Familiar with Adobe Addition
• Familiar with Adobe Premiere
References
• Janice McCummings (757)851-7139
• David Caldwell-employer-(757)871-6204
• Natasha Pool-high school track coach-(757)696-1046
• Clarence Simmons- family friend- (757)418-5192

Getting recorded is step one

One thing can open or close the door on the dream to stardom.

When dreaming, inspiring musicians are probably playing their song in front of millions of people, but to get there, they first have to go through the task of trying to get recorded.

Among college students it seems that the number of musicians trying to make it in the industry is rising. A few years ago most people were content with performing at small venues. But with the new, overwhelming interest in fame, more people are trying to make it big.

“Everybody wants to be famous,” said Terry Stroud, Chief Operating officer for the In Your Ear Music recording studio in Richmond, Va. “Then you have to kind of pull away the layers, so to speak, to find out if they really have the talent,” said Stroud.

Many believe that actually getting the music recorded will help in the search for fame. After bands record, they have a better means of producing and distributing their music to people of authority and without.

But before a band may start recording they have to show that they are serious about their work. In Your Ear Music, said they receive may calls, but not many musicians come in to record.

“You have to find out if they really have the work ethnic to be able to do what it takes to be in the biss. This is not simple work and they have to have the talent in order to do the writing and know what to do in the studio and how to make it work,” said Stroud.

When talking about talent and what can help new musicians on the come up, Stroud says music lessons. He feels that a more structured learning for music will help more than networking and learning from peers.

“I think they need to have a more structured learning sort of thing for music its self, and for computers, and some other things like that. So they’ll really have an idea technically at least on a particular level what it is they are doing in the studio and why that works,” said Stroud.

The knowledge of some academic education is also a plus to Stroud when it comes to the actual recording process of music. Who believes basement recording doesn’t match up to the real thing.

“A lot of time they just buy a computer, buy an Apple computer and they work in their basement for six months and their a video editor or a audio engineer. But that is not even close to it. They have to know how to run a computer but they don’t understand technical things, they don’t understand physics and stuff,” said Stroud.

But Victor “DJ Mase” Mason would probably disagree since he records other artist and his own music in a “home” studio.

“The home studio, you can make it good quality just as if you were in a studio if you have the right person behind the boards, mixing and mixing down the tracks. To me it’s all about what kind of mic you have, what kind of filter you have in front of the mic and then the rapper themselves, how clear they are,” said Mason.

Another reason bands may considering basement recording over professional recording is the cost. It is a lot cheaper, and sometimes free to record this way. And with the bad economy and the rising tuition cost, this method is a favorite among many student musicians.

“It’s a lot cheaper and more affordable. I mean in this day and age, I’m not saying you need to go cheaper with everything but if you can save money and come out with a product that is equally as great, at least quality wise. I don’t know why you wouldn’t do it,” said Mason.

But they one thing that both Mason and Stroud agrees on is that they have to have a love and a passion for music and what they do There also has to be a strong degree of dedication to their working and getting it right, and if they don’t Stroud said “it shows.”

New Music For STRUT Fashion Week

During VCU's STRUT fashion week Earth Tones performed in front of students while they walked to classes. The event helped promote the STRUT fashion show and to gave students a break from mid-terms. There were other bands that performed during the week, including Miss Jillz and the VCU jazz band, but the crowd favorite was Earth tones.

Miss Jillz is Making Noise In Richmond

A woman sitting on a couch is laughing at a text message she just received talking about her latest mixtape. Her smile is the perfect accessory to set off her gray tutu, t-shirt, light pink jacket, and tan suede, platform heels.

Her presence is strong and her voice is being heard all around Virginia Commonwealth University. Even though she is only five feet tall, she has the heart of someone twice her size.

Jillian “Miss Jillz” Napper is a 20-year-old sophomore who is majoring in fashion merchandising, but is also inspired to be a rapper. Napper walks VCU’s campus in heels everyday like it’s her stage. But she hasn’t always been front and center.

“Sometimes I feel like maybe I underestimate her but then listening to her lyrics and her words and how she spits fire; it’s just crazy, it’s beautiful,” said freshman, vocal performance major Demitrus Carter, who is also Napper’s backup singer.

Napper danced when she was younger and always knew she wanted to perform on stage somehow. When she was younger she dreamed of being a backup dancer for a performer like Ciara.

“But then I realized I wanted to be the main person getting all the attention,” said Napper.

In middle school Napper started off free styling with male friends just for fun. She said she remembers times in dance class when her teacher wasn’t in the room and someone would beat on the heater and she would rap. From there Napper started writing poetry, then performing at open mic nights. Her first performance was at an open mic in Maryland. Napper said at first she was very nervous, but she got through it.

“After I got up there and got comfortable. I was like; yeah I want to do this. All the kudos I got made me want to do it some more,” said Napper.

Sophomore, forensic science major Dionna Lewis remembers Napper’s first VCU performance at the Siegel Center during the focus inquiry end of the year party.

“At that moment I knew she was a success story in the making,” said Lewis.

When writing her music, Napper’s inspirations are Eve, Lauren Hill, MC Lyte, Outcast, Biggie, Missy Elliot, and Common. And while lyrics are no problem for Napper, beats aren’t something she likes to come up with on her own.

“I tried one time on my first mix tape, but I do not have the equipment for it,” said Napper.

So when she does want beats she said she asks her old friends from high school to send her theirs. And when its time to record she has friends for that, too.

Napper said some of her friends know people who will let her record for free or cheap, but most of the time she goes home to Washington to her basement.

“There is like no sound in my basement and that’s really good when you want to record stuff,” said Napper.

Carter said if you’re in the studio with her you can really see her determination to get things done. She doesn’t let her basement short comings hold her back.

“It’s not a hobby, it’s a life her,” said Carter.

Napper also has her own recording equipment and made a recording booth out of her closet, which is where her last mix tape, Studio 1206, was recorded. But if Napper was to use a recording studio, they would charge her anywhere from $20 to $30 an hour. And if it takes her a while to get into the mood of things, she could spend $60 on just one song.

“I’d rather find people who will let me do it for free. I’m not trying to pay at all. I have bills,” said Napper.

If she wasn’t rapping, she said she would probably be a dancer or a dance teacher because she can’t see herself in an ordinary job like a doctor or a lawyer. But if she wasn’t doing any of this, Napper said she would be opening up her own boutique that would sell clothes that no one would usually see.

“I’m an artist, and I want to go through with my art,” said Napper.

Carter also doesn’t see Napper doing anything else.

“She doesn’t want anything less than being successful, she just can not take anything less than that,” said Carter.

This time next year, Napper plans on having two more mix tapes added to her existing list of three- Pink Hourglass, Fend and Fame, and Studio 1206. She also plans on getting more and connections and then hopefully getting signed to a label.

“I’m never going to be where I want to be. I got to keep working to get better than where I am,” said Napper.

And for those who may not know who she is, she had to say this.

“My name is Miss Jillz; listen for my name on your radio. I’m not a one-time thing,” said Napper.

Do Employers Look Past Tattoos

Walking around Virginia Commonwealth University on a warm day are colorful arms, legs, backs, and stomachs. Tattoos are everywhere, and they are bigger and more colorful than ever.

This more liberal way of thinking with the VCU students hasn’t reached the professional world yet, but many students feel that their tattoos aren’t going to be a problem once they are in the job market.

“It’s not as bad as them being on my face or unable to be covered I don’t think,” said Brittany Watson, a VCU sophomore and clinical exercise science major.Has employers mind set about tattoos really changed?

Not according to a recent study done by Vault.com. The study showed that 85 percent of employers said that having a tattoo will still hurt an applicant’s chance of getting a job.

“People who see tattoos are like oh, that guy is trash. We don’t want him working here,” said Dan Jeffery, a sophomore and a criminal justice major. Shawn Sweeney, a sophomore and a painting and print making major, also feels that not having a tattoo will boost his ability of getting a job. Tattoos “look kind of gross after awhile," he said.

Susan Story, the director of the VCU Career Center, believes it also depends on someone’s major and the job they are going after. Story said that if people are applying for a job “in the public eye,” tattoos aren’t the only thing they should be worried about. “Tattoos and piercings go together,” said Story. “I have told males to cut their hair and take out an earring, and then they got the job,” she said.

Story also talks about how the hard economic times in America is in now may affect a person who has tattoos even more. She said that employers are rarely offering jobs now, and when they do it’s going to be to the most professional-looking person. If the tattoo is in a spot were it can be seen at work or at the interview, then it should be fine.But that is where the problem comes in. More and more people are getting large or numerous tattoos in noticeable places.

“There is a professionalism factor that needs to be taken into account,” said Vernon Lee Gordon III, a junior and a clinical exercise science major who also has tattoos. “I think many individuals neglect that fact when they are getting tattoos in their younger years.”

VCU students step up to the mic

Poets weren't the only artist in the building that night. Singers, rappers, and guitar players graced VCU's stage in the student commons in February. For more on this story, follow the link.

Read the whole story in the Commonwealth Times.

Classes Drop as VCU Decreases Spending

VCU students are worried that their graduation time will be affected by the cutting of classes because of the new budget cuts.

By Asia Holt

A VCU college student sits outside and smokes a cigarette with paint stained hands. He is an art student, but has nothing to show for it, he has no supplies.

Ian James Reid, a junior paint and printing making major, is feeling the affects of the budgets cuts brought upon VCU this year, which will have to cut $10.1 million by June 2009.

“Because of the cuts we couldn’t get figure models for one of our classes, which was a pretty big disappointment because that is a major component of drawing and painting,” said Reid.

Some students also feel that the cutting of classes is for other reason.

“I think they spend too much on the campus a not enough on education,” said Stephan Truhart, a sophomore accounting major.

But many students feel that the new budget cuts will hurt their scheduling for next year and extend the time that they are in school . Victoria Wloshinski, a freshman undeclared major, said that she noticed some classes weren’t being offered as much, while some weren’t being offered at all. The shorter list of classes to take at VCU concerns her.

“If they cut something back, and I have to take it at a certain time. Then it’s going to push me back,” said Wloshinski.

That’s not the only worry for international student and english literature major Eliane Barensaller who felt that VCU gave preference over the American students when it came to classes. Barensaller, who is enrolled at a university in Switzerland, thinks that the budget cuts hurt her chances of getting in to interesting classes.

“Because of budget cuts I didn’t get in to any of the classes I needed for back home,” said Barensaller.

Although Barensaller didn’t get into all of the classes she needed, she doesn’t feel that it will hurt her chances of graduating on time.

“I just have to work harder when I get home,” said Barensaller.

Academic advisor Ashlyn Howell noted that there have been fewer sections of classes because departments making some of their own cuts. Howell also said that VCU can not offer as many general education classes this semester as it did last semester.

“Some of the bigger classes they have made bigger and just had one section,” said Howell.

But when it comes to graduation, Howell doesn’t see class cutting hurting students chances of graduating in the long run. She explains that students have enough time to take all the classes they need and she hasn’t seen any of the upper classmen panic about it this semester.

“Departments are being pretty flexible because they understand what is going on,” said Howell.