![\"Avi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786712290_331_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nMonica Sanchez, a rising senior at UT Austin, wanted to work in the music industry, but she had no idea where to start. During her freshman year, she met a recording artist named Jennun at the Bonita Project, a Latina-only networking event.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would go to her events, film her, do some graphics,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cShe was my first internship, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jennun \u2014 who blends Latin, pop, rap and house music \u2014 encouraged Sanchez to sign up for Grammy U, a program that helps young people navigate the music industry.<\/p>\n
Launched in 2006 by the Recording Academy, Grammy U offers mentorships and other opportunities to help kick-start a music career. Members get access to networking events and exclusive invitations to watch professional musicians rehearse. It’s open to people aged 18-29 and costs $50 to join.<\/p>\n
The Texas chapter is hosting a members-only panel this month called Women in the Mix to discuss how to build a career in the industry. Sanchez said her favorite experience has been going to these types of member events where she gets to meet artists, business people and managers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s truly just a free-for-all,\u201d she said, \u201cand it\u2019s your job to network and try to acquaint yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she now has more clarity about her career options.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I didn’t join Grammy U \u2026 and if I never met Jennun, I would have had none of the internships I currently have now,\u201d said Sanchez, who has worked with KUTX, the Austin record label Spaceflight Records and the music technology company Prosper XO.<\/p>\n
Grammy U grows<\/p>\n
Jessie Allen is the managing director of Grammy U and oversees the membership program. She became a member as a freshman in college when Grammy U first started in 2006.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really amazing to dream and build during that time,” she said, “to learn the ropes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since it first launched, Grammy U has grown to over 9,100 members worldwide. Under Allen’s leadership, the organization developed virtual events, national programs and an annual summit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s just been great to see the scale of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Grammy U also offers a mentorship program, which pairs members with established people in the music industry. They meet at least three times in person or virtually throughout the six-month program, with guidance and workshops from the Recording Academy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tom Gilbert for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n
Avi Minkoff, the senior manager of the Texas chapter of Grammy U, is responsible for creating events, networking opportunities and educational panels for the state’s 1,500 Grammy U members. <\/p>\n
Support for the next generation<\/p>\n
Avi Minkoff is the senior manager of the Texas chapter of Grammy U. He\u2019s responsible for creating engagement opportunities for the state’s 1,500 members.<\/p>\n
He said being part of a support system for people who want to get into the industry is gratifying.<\/p>\n
\u201c[I enjoy] being able to lift up the music community and also foster that next generation of the music community to be able to succeed,\u201d he said, \u201c[to] make sure that music as a whole stays an indelible part of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Sanchez isn\u2019t exactly sure what she wants to do, she is certain about one thing after joining Grammy U.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a music industry girl,\u201d she said, \u201c[and] I\u2019m here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Porshea Goins is a summer 2026 intern with Texas Standard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Monica Sanchez, a rising senior at UT Austin, wanted to work in the music industry, but she had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-593034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}