Here at Avant Media Institute, we are proud to recognize and honor our veterans that have chosen to enroll in our audio engineering program. We thank you all for your service and bravery to our country. To commemorate their admirable time served, we interviewed a few of our current veterans, and would like to help you get to know them better.
Hanif Al Azin-
Born in Maryland, raised in New York. Hanif served in the army for an accumulated of 17 years. During his time, he served all over the country, over seas, and has visited a great bulk of the world. Post military, he made his way to Texas. He was attracted by the warmer weather, and during his retirement he wanted to pursue a passion of his for the first time. Having always had an interest in music production, Hanif decided to enroll the Audio Engineering program shortly after.
Future Graduate 2019
Robert (Cali) Norris-
Robert was born in the bay area of California, and ended up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he joined the Air-force. He served for a total of four years before moving to Houston to pursue a career in audio engineering, as he has always loved music and even had operatic vocal training prior to finding Avant.
Future Graduate 2019
Quentin Lewis-
Quentin, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and has always had an innate passion for music. He served in the Navy for 16 and a half years, which then led him back to Houston to pursue gaining an education in audio engineering. Since attending Avant, Quentin has had an excellent experience, and speaks highly of the institute to his friends.
"Age isn't a factor, if you have a passion to do it, this school gives you the tools to be successful."
Future Graduate 2019
Darius Bankhead-
Darius, 28 years old, grew up in Columbus, Mississippi, and discovered his love for music when he was just 16. He joined the Air-Force in his young adult years, and served for 3 and a half years, which led him to being able to travel all around the states, to Canada and more. Upon returning home, Darius decided he was ready to dive into the world of audio. His passion for music paired with his desire to learn how to mix the right way led him to Avant. He is currently in 201 and has already learned enough to apply his skills to personal work.
“I recommend Avant to anyone I know that loves music. It’s the perfect place to be for students who want to learn with real equipment and awesome instructors.”
His goals post graduation are to start branching out among the Houston music scene, and hopefully start his own label one day.
Future Graduate 2020
Brian DeJesus-
Brian, 20, is currently enlisted in the Army National Guard, and enrolled in Avant to advance his audio skills. He wants to learn more about the craft as he has always been a fan of music, and takes inspiration from artists like La Cray, and What Up RG. He has very much enjoyed his experience so far, and is looking forward to the coming months of classes.
Future Graduate 2020
As our student body grows, we welcome and are excited to enroll many more veterans, and active military personnel to provide the VA benefits they all deserve. We would also like to thank the students listed above once more for their service! USA!