Senior Spotlight Jeremiah Rodriguez
Jeremiah Rodriguez is a Senior from Westbury High School and is looking forward to celebrating his graduation. That is, if he can make it back to New York on time.
This 2nd year Audio Production student has had a very successful year at SkillsUSA, a competition that focuses on skills and industry knowledge for students in technical education programs. With his partner Jude Bertino, Jeremiah placed 1st in Audio Production at Regional SkillsUSA Competition in March and 1st place in Audio Production at New York State SkillsUSA Competition over Spring Break. At the end of June, Jeremiah and Jude will represent LIHSA at the National competition in Atlanta, Georgia. The competition is scheduled to end right before his high school graduation. “I am gonna have to fly home early and miss the awards,” Jeremiah shared with a smile on his face.
Jeremiah wanted to come to LIHSA to advance his skills in audio production and explore a developing passion for music. “I was able to do that plus more,” Jeremiah shared while reflecting about his time at LIHSA. “Never did I think I’ll be mixing songs. When I first came here I was making beats. Now I makes songs of different genres. Rap songs dance hall, pop, afrobeat, hip-hop. I do it all.”
He also performs live across Long Island with LIHSA students Joey Toscano and Emma DiPrima as well as other local talent. After graduating from Westbury and LIHSA, Jeremiah will continue performing as he begins school at Five Towns college to pursue the business side of music.
When asked about the best parts of studying at LIHSA, Jeremiah replied, “There’s a lot. For one, the energy in the classroom is positive and inspiriting. Ms. Tourt is one of the biggest reasons for that. I have freedom to experiment with songs and music.” Jeremiah is developing an album titled Jere vs. Jereh (Jereh being his stage name), about growing up and becoming more versatile. You find this album on all streaming platforms in fall 2024.
Jeremiah has words of wisdom for anyone considering LIHSA. “If you are having any doubt about coming here, give it a try. You never know what to expect and the opportunity is a lot better than you might think. LIHSA started my whole path for me; college and what I want to do in my life. I don’t even know if I would be doing music if I wasn’t here.”
Special thanks to Yesnia and Machido and Rony Ortega for their supportiveness and believing in Jeremiah’s dreams.
