To whom it may concern,

My name is Nathan Wyatt. I am currently a freshman at DePaul University, College of Communication. I am applying to transfer to DePaul’s Sound Recording Technology course. I earned a 3.75 GPA in my first quarter and am a Dean’s List Student. My true passion is sound and music, which I’ve been interested in ever since I was old enough to get my hands on a copy of Garageband and a keyboard. Everything I’ve learned has led me to my decision to seek a spot in the SRT program. 

Chicago Waldorf School, the institution I attended from kindergarten through high school, puts a huge emphasis on music and playing instruments. I chose the cello and enjoyed the sounds I could create on a stringed instrument. Growing up with a piano in my house also allowed me to improvise by picking up pieces of songs by ear. In my senior year, I joined the school’s jazz band as a keyboardist and performed twice in front of the school. This exposure to new musical styles has not only allowed me to create original pieces of music spanning various genres but has also increased my awareness and my ability to implement structures from the instruments that I have played. 

My initial creative processes ranged from producing small independent beats to taking scenes from movies and overlaying my own sound effects and music compositions to create something new. At age 15, I graduated to Logic Pro, on which I’ve been able to take my creations to another level. Other ventures in digital audio workstations (DAWs) include FL Studio and Pro Tools. 

Whenever I listen to music, I immediately analyze it. Is there enough headroom? Do specific instruments stand out more than others, and is that intentional or merely a processing mistake? Does the overlaying mix contain too much compression? Would the vocals be improved if the mix was wider? This is the effect of my dedication to my craft. I knew that I wanted to pursue audio engineering when I realized the one thing I wanted to do every day was open my laptop and immediately get to making something new. 

While I feel confident in my ability to orchestrate creative ideas and to realize them, I am excited to learn from professionals and progress further with the extensive and intensive sound recording courses offered at DePaul University. I know I can offer a creative and unique perspective to audio engineering and will embrace the challenges of the course program. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, 

Nathan Wyatt