Is this Penn alum trading his passion for grad school?

They graduated Penn and moved to Austin to pursue careers in music.

Now, 18 months and 10 DT vlog episodes later, Ben Naecker (C’09, Water Polo) and Blake West (W’09, Jazz Combos) kept the faith and finally found someone “instrumental” to their progress in Austin.

All the while, they’ve been preaching that “real jobs are not their forte”, however after a year, Ben indeed applied to grad school.

After the jump find out if he got in, what effect that may have on all the work they’ve done thus far …and which Wharton professor (and record producer!) they’ll be working with.

In the video below, Ben and Blake’s lesson is about “sticking it out” and they give some exciting band news that may give hope to those struggling to find their crew or gigs.

As Blake and Ben alluded to in the video, they got a chance to work with record producer and Wharton professor of Entrepreneurship, Lawrence Gelburd. More about Lawrence Gelburd’s HERE

We’ve seen so many stories on DT of Penn alumni changing careers from traditional careers to passionate ones. This is the opposite case and one many Hollywood folks I’ve known have also taken. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the years to come!

Blake’s website HERE
Ben’s website HERE

DT Catch Up: 

• RJANMF Episode 1: “Don’t Panic”
• RJANMF Episode 2: “Don’t Get Trapped”
• RJANMF Episode 3: “Know Thy Bandmates!” 
• RJANMF Episode 4: “It’s All About the Music”
• RJANMF Episode 5: “Diversify Your Income”
• RJANMF Episode 6: “Bad Times, Good Times”
• RJANMF Episode 7: “Givin It Up to Uncle Sam”
• RJANMF Episode 8: “They tell musicians how to choose the best city to live in”
• RJANMF Episode 9: “How to Record an Album”
• RJANMF Episode 10: “Don’t turn your nose up at anything too fast”

More Penn musicians HERE

More Original DT Series:

•  “An Actor’s Path”
• “Starter Reality Star”
• Kelly on Campus: 15 second Penn clips

Reunion Time!: DT Stories about your classmates: 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986, 1981, 1976, 1971

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• Ben Naecker
• Blake West