GRAMMY U has wrapped up its annual programming for the summer and said goodbye to the class of 2023 representatives. Over the life of GRAMMY U, the reps' roles have grown and flourished, embodying the soul behind the program as a whole.  

This year's GRAMMY U reps have been busy hosting and co-producing events across the country, from the GRAMMY U Masterclass with Jacob Collier during GRAMMY Week to chapter-based industry insight events focused on topics such as album release day and next steps after graduation. Amidst all these programs, the reps have been hitting the road to experience GRAMMY Week in Los Angeles, hosting interviews at SXSW in Austin, and contributing to the GRAMMY U Conference in Miami. In between events, GU reps evangelize about the program, while working internally to maintain its public-facing day-to-day aspects, including the GRAMMY U Mixtape monthly member playlist. 

There are a total of 14 GRAMMY U reps: one for each of the 12 chapters, and two national representatives. These positions are part of an intensive mentorship program as part-time staff at the Recording Academy, where reps work closely with both their chapter and national teams to represent the GRAMMY U program while receiving career development opportunities. 

Reps must be full-time students pursuing a career in music, and their time in their role can range from one to three years. Reps who have completed the GRAMMY U program have gone on to pursue successful careers at SiriusXM, "Saturday Night Live," SXSW, Spotify and even the Recording Academy. 

Ahead of GRAMMY U's 17th year, take a trip down memory lane to learn about the beginnings of the GRAMMY U representative position, and how the role has evolved into its current iteration.

The Beginnings Of GRAMMY U's Representative Role

The representative role began with the creation of the GRAMMY U program in 2006 as a way to help recruit new members to GRAMMY U and provide networking opportunities. GRAMMY U representatives exist across all 12 chapters and has become one of the most coveted roles for students starting a career in the music industry.

Initially, the majority of the rep role centered on recruiting other members through in-person outreach and involvement in on-campus events. The reps also focused on hosting programming within their local chapters, providing membership benefits and networking opportunities for current and prospective student members. The qualifications to be a GRAMMY U member were also more exclusive: prospective members had to be full-time students pursuing a degree in the music industry.

As GRAMMY U broadened its reach to allow any full-time student pursuing a career in music to join, the rep role also developed. GRAMMY U Reps could now major in business, communications, marketing, journalism, visual arts, law, and more, providing a wider lens of the path a GRAMMY U member could take to join the music industry. 

GRAMMY U programming has always been exceptionally in-depth and educational. Becca Zagorski, a former Chicago Rep (2017-2019) and current Recording Academy Chicago Chapter Project Manager, recalls the GRAMMY U Lollapalooza Backstage Tour, where students were able to meet people from all walks of life at C3 Presents and see the show come to life. Zagorski praised this popular event's "incredible insight to how a major festival is built and what positions are needed to ensure it runs efficiently." 

Reps and members at GRAMMY U SoundChecks with Jason Mraz in 2018, Nashville Chapter | Recording Academy

Early-days reps were also responsible for encouraging attendance at GRAMMY U events — among them, the popular GRAMMY U SoundChecks — and assisting with on-site event duties such as check-in, networking and volunteer communications. Members could also participate in speed networking events, performance opportunities, industry panels and contests. Reps were constantly out representing GRAMMY U by tabling at other events and creatively presenting in classrooms and forums. 

By 2017, Zagorski and reps in the later classes began growing signature programs within their local markets, such as the Nashville Songwriter Showcase, the Florida GRAMMY U Conference, Up Close & Personal conversations featuring major artists, and establishment of the mentorship program. SoundChecks became more streamlined across all chapters, where local reps were now so involved in the process from facilitating the recruitment of student attendees all the way to leading conversations onsite with artists and their crews. 

Internally, the reps were also able to contribute more to the Recording Academy as a whole. They even received opportunities to write articles for GRAMMY.com, which Zagorski notes, "helped develop [her] writing skills as publishing on GRAMMY.COM requires a high caliber of proficiency."

Though the reps were busy all across the country, they had limited chances to speak to each other or learn much about each other’s Chapters, and received few opportunities to work together on various programming. 

Uniting Reps Nationwide

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of the music industry, including GRAMMY U, which canceled all in-person programs and limited their typical outreach methods. 

Through much discussion on how to shift programming during these times, former GRAMMY U Director Virginia Faddy and current GRAMMY U Director Jessie Allen, shifted the once local Florida Chapter GRAMMY U Conference into the first-ever national GRAMMY U Conference. The 2021 virtual GRAMMY U Conference provided an opportunity for GRAMMY U members from across the nation to attend. All 12 student reps were able to work together for the first time ever to build this national event by creating introduction videos, writing scripts, moderating the panels, helping with outreach and marketing, and producing it all live.

Sierra Dudas, Former GRAMMY U Rep (2020-2021) and Recording Academy Sr. Project Coordinator, Creative Services, explained her experience as a rep in a virtual world. "It was the first year that events were shifting from local, Chapter-based programs to bigger national events with a wider audience. We were still figuring out the perfect blend of maintaining an intimate Chapter feel, while being as accessible as possible." 

Former Reps Sierra Dudas (L.A. Chapter) and Allison Lapinski (Chicago Chapter) host the 2021 GRAMMY U Virtual Conference | Recording Academy

Prior to Dudas’ time as a GRAMMY U Rep, GRAMMY U's social presence was represented solely through the Recording Academy's platforms. Her class worked hard to create the look and feel of the first-ever GRAMMY U Instagram and TikTok accounts, and ensure it is sustainably run by GRAMMY U reps going forward.

GRAMMY U reps continued to actively create content by making trending music industry videos, highlighting members and events, and interviewing artists. Their involvement in the accounts resulted in rapid growth, and resulted in the opportunity to host a media lounge during SXSW 2022. Dozens of artists attended for interviews and various content captures, while reps curated all questions onsite and edited the content live for a true peek inside the world of music industry publicity.

The New GRAMMY U

Collaboration continues to thrive across all chapters in the most recent class of GRAMMY U reps, with two more positions added to the team: a national membership rep and national projects rep. Internally, the GRAMMY U reps work together daily, providing feedback and assistance to each other as they continue local chapter events, all the way to brainstorming and working together on teams for national initiatives and programs. 

The reps now spend their time working on both chapter and national initiatives equally. Within their chapter markets, the reps oversee local outreach and recruitment, lead a team of campus ambassadors, host events like panels and the GRAMMY U SoundChecks, and manage the mentorship program. The rest of their time is spent building events and benefits for all members, while developing the GRAMMY U's online presence. In this past academic year alone, reps have written more than 20 articles and actively grown the GRAMMY U social accounts.

The 2022-2023 academic year was also the first time the national GRAMMY U Conference was held in-person. The GRAMMY U Conference Presented by Nike was held in Miami and featured unique co-branded activations, a networking mixer, and a packed afternoon of educational panels — all produced by the reps. They worked in teams to bring the conference to life, whether they attended in person, or contributed from their individual cities remotely. 

Reps helping prepare for the 2023 GRAMMY U Conference | Recording Academy

Other national programs the reps contributed to included our GRAMMY U Masterclass with Jacob Collier during GRAMMY Week, our Masterclass series, Presented by Mastercard, at SXSW and during the HBCU Love Tour in Atlanta, and a curated week of opportunities during GRAMMY Week. 

This year at GRAMMY Week, our Reps received the first-ever opportunity for the reps to attend the MusicCares Persons of the Year Gala. They also produced social content from behind-the-scenes all week long, including participating in a guided production tour of the Crypto.com arena. "Meeting so many people at all the different events [during GRAMMY Week] was incredibly exciting and eye opening," says Sam Merkin, National GRAMMY U Projects Rep (2021-2023).

While the reps were in awe of these opportunities, the feeling of meeting the other reps for the first time was still one of the most notable highlights of the week. This year’s Memphis Chapter GRAMMY U Rep (2021-2023), Emma Hampton, called it a "homecoming." 

"We spend so much time talking over the phone so it was incredibly rewarding to finally all be together actually getting to know one another," she says. "It’s like seeing old friends for the first time in forever." 

The reps' editorial committee also launched the GRAMMY U Mixtape, a monthly member playlist for GRAMMY.com. Reps rotate listening duties every month, and decide genres and titles to highlights on official Recording Academy playlists. 

New Opportunities On The Horizon

Today, the GRAMMY U reps are exposed to a wide variety of programming and opportunities. While the SoundChecks and Mentorship remain flagship programs for GRAMMY U, each new class of reps will have more opportunity than ever to curate new experiences within their Chapters and nationally. 

GRAMMY U Reps with GRAMMY U Director Jessie Allen at the 2023 GRAMMY U Conference | Recording Academy

The GRAMMY U Reps are exposed to a countless amount of skills to prepare them for the music industry after program completion. These include anything from social media, writing, and public speaking, to production, events, and design.

GRAMMY U hopes to build off of this momentum from the work of the previous Reps and is excited to welcome a new class of reps in the Fall. Applications for next year’s GRAMMY U representatives are now open for the Atlanta, Chicago, Florida, Memphis, New York, Pacific Northwest, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Texas, and Washington D.C. Chapters, including one National Membership position.

Visit here to learn more about each position. Applications close June 30.

GRAMMY U Conference Timeline: How The Student-Run Con Changed GRAMMY U For The Better