PARTICIPANT PROFILES

HAYDEN

The USA is known to many as the land of opportunity, the place where you can dream big and if you’re lucky, make it big! To some, the idea of heading to La La land and competing with the hordes of others from around the world is just too daunting, but as Hayden proves, a lot of hard work and determination coupled with true passion for what you do can, eventually, lead to great things.

Hayden, a very modest Aussie originally from regional Victoria, is chasing his dream of playing music for a living and from what he has shared with IEP, it seems as though Hayden’s dreams are already coming true.

Hayden's story so far...

I live in Los Angeles, on the outskirts of Hollywood and West Hollywood. Really nice neighbourhood, parking is a pain and rent is through the roof!

I play music for a living and I work part-time as an audio engineer at a studio in Hollywood.

I found this line of work through a lot of networking, research, patience and luck.

Why the USA?

Most of the musicians and bands I have listened to growing up are American, and it is commonly considered that Los Angeles particularly is a 'sink or swim' town. I felt that experience in the USA would be the best 'industry education' and indicator as a professional musician to see if I’m cut out for this line of work long term.

I believe the hardest thing about moving to another country to live and work is doing it without all the misconceptions and opinions of others stuck in the back of your mind, embracing your new home and forming your own opinion of it will lead you to the most rewarding and fulfilling travel experience. 

Networking

The best experiences I've had in the US have come mostly professionally, either working with artists I admire or other high profile artists that have been a lot of fun. I currently play in a band with ex-Everclear drummer Greg Eklund who, when I was 13 or 14 was like "the drum dude!!".

With that same band, earlier this year we played to a sold out crowd at the Troubadour, one of the most prestigious and highly recognised venues in Los Angeles. In 2007, I was fortunate enough to score the gig with Joe Firstman (Last Call With Carson Daily) opening up for Hootie & The Blowfish on the west coast dates of their 'Homegrown' tour. Artists that I have worked with at the Studio include; Ice T, Lemme (Motorhead), Down, AFI, Coheed & Cambria, Rob Zombie, Charlie Tuna (Jurassic 5) and many others.

The Impact

I have gained a huge insight into American culture, social awareness and political change that has been quite apparent with the impending election. Through a lot of touring in 2007, I began to discover how diverse the nation is and how different social opinions and cultures are, nearly polar-opposite in some cases. Professionally, I have gained a lot of knowledge as to how the 'sessioning' circuit works, having well established relationships with folks like Barry Squire, Artist referral agent and many other avenues.

The 'Myth' is not true and musicians still stand a great chance of being able to survive playing music. As I grow and develop as a musician, I hope to seek out more opportunities in America and see where the road leads me.

IEP will follow Hayden’s inspirational journey as he continues to live it up working in the USA.

STEVEN

“Everything in America is done with such passion, it is full-on or not at all, nothing is half hearted, you have to give it your all... I’m going to be a part of the real thing!”

When IEP spoke to Steven, one of our very first Work USA members going on the new 12 month visa, he was literally counting down the hours til he departed for the adventure of a life time – one year in the USA.

Steve excitedly shared his plans of living the dream and following his acting and performance career up in the Big Apple.

“I’m in the arts industry so I want to go to the hub of where it stems from... to the craziness of it all in New York and experience Broadway and the theatre,” Steven said.

With his background in character acting and accents Steven is confident he will find some sort of work that will build on his skills and knowledge. Now a deferred drama student, Steven has five years of experience working at Queensland’s Movie World where he used to try out different American accents – we won’t be at all surprised if Steven returns home with a thick New Yorker accent!

Steven will be one of the first Aussies heading to America on this visa and he knows what an awesome opportunity this new visa is and definitely encourages other eligible Aussies to get in there and apply!

“I think it’s great! It’s so great that there are so many new opportunities, I think nothing but good can come from experiencing other countries and cultures,” Steven said, “For me, it is going to show me what is possible in my industry, we don’t have that much available to us here in Australia in my industry, it will re-awaken where I want to go and what I want to do. I’m hoping it will reaffirm what I want to do with my life.”

We have no doubt that Steven will be completely enthused and revitalised about his chosen career path after spending a year living it up on a working holiday in the USA and IEP is thrilled to help him get there!

UPDATE: Since writing this article about Steven, we've heard that he's settled in well to live in New York City:

"NYC is amazing and I love being here. I work for Disney at the World of Disney on 5th Avenue. I've seen a whole bunch of B'way shows and am really enjoying myself immensely... It really is the Crossway of the World! Thank you so much for all of your help with this program. It really is an amazing opportunity for all Australians."

NATHALIE

IEP member Nathalie discovered she was able to work at her dream destination in her dream job thanks to the new 12 month Work USA visa.

Nathalie landed a job in the Marketing/PR department of fashion company, Escada right in the glamorous city of New York.

A very excited Nathalie told IEP about how she heard she’d scored her dream job,

“They called me at 2 o’clock in the morning to tell me I’d gotten the job” she said, “It was an exciting call to receive.”

“What I know about the job so far is I will be helping organise advertising in magazines like Vogue and be involved in dressing models for catwalk shows or celebrities for the red carpet,” Nathalie explained.

Nathalie is thrilled to have the opportunity of the new 12 month visa, having been to the USA before she knew that she would love to work there if given the chance.

“I’ve been to New York for a few days before and I fell in love with the place. I made a promise to myself that I would come back and work there and now I am!”

Nathalie has worked in Asia and Europe before and saw the USA as her next adventure, she is keen to see the sights and do more shopping in NYC but ultimately it is the work experience she is most enthusiastic about.

“I’m really looking forward to the job. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time and it is going to give me the chance to experience the fashion industry and really network. I work in Marketing at UniSA now so I will still be working in marketing but just in a totally different field.”

Nathalie decided to go with IEP’s Work USA program after researching the market and finding out what was out there.

“I found IEP through Google. I really liked the fact that it was packaged so you got your insurance and visa assistance all together. If you follow IEP’s advice it just makes things much easier.” Nathalie said.

“IEP’s website was really well laid out and informative compared to other companies offering a similar program and I really liked getting the newsletter with updates about information sessions and what you need to know... plus the price was really good.”

IEP wishes Nathalie the best of luck for the US and invites other full time tertiary students and recent graduates to take the plunge and apply for the Work USA program…the next dream to come true could be yours.

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