Tom Dobrzanski was not unfamiliar when he walked into my Comm 101 class. Tom is a member of the band, the Zolas, a group I have been listening to for over a year, so to see him in front of me, was pretty exciting. To have him talk about his past experiences was even more exciting! What I didn’t know was that Tom used to be a student at Sauder School of Business, and that he has a Bachelor of Commerce.
Given that I love his music, that I’m a drummer and a piano player, and that we both are/were Sauder students, made listening to Tom a very inspirational experience. Instead of doing something like finance, marketing or accounting, like the vast majority of BCom students, Dobrzanski combined his business knowledge and his passion for music to create something outstanding. He is not only a member of a band, he is also a producer and engineer. While in school, he was also creating a recording studio in his parents’ basement (Vertical Studios). A couple well known bands, such as Said the Whale and Hey Ocean! record their albums here. Due to his successes, Tom has been able to relocate and is now working on finishing his new recording studio, Monarch Studios.
I, along with many others, still don’t know what type of career I want, so seeing a Sauder grad tell us about how he strayed from the norm, followed his passions, and became successful doing something he loves, was very inspirational! This really showed me, for the first time, that as long as I’m motivated and work hard, the possibilities for what I can do after I graduate are endless.
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