December 10, 2018

After graduating from Susquehanna, Carissa Sweet ’18 continued her journey into the performing arts industry by pursuing a Master of Arts degree in arts presenting and live entertainment management at the Frost School of Music at The University of Miami.

Sweet, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in music with a focus in percussion, was one of the first students to graduate with the arts administration minor and graduated from Susquehanna in only three years.

While at Susquehanna, she also had the chance to study photography and education and gain hands-on experience as a music admission assistant, which helped her learn some behind-the-scenes aspects of running a nonprofit arts organization.

“Both in my work and education I was able to get a taste of what it takes to work in performing arts management. It takes commitment, creativity, attention to detail and big-picture thinking,” Sweet says.

Sweet’s ultimate career goal is to continue working in live entertainment and arts management. She advises those interested in performing arts to seek as much hands-on experience in the field as possible.

“Learn from everyone and everything. The performing arts industry is not only a place for musicians and other performing artists, but for financial experts, administrators, grant writers and so much more,” Sweet says.

While attending graduate school, Sweet is a graduate assistant in the University of Miami’s Office of Undergraduate Admission and marketing director for Frost Sounds, an organization that helps to secure performance opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students around the Miami community.