THE HOFSTRA
HEMPSTEAD, NY VOLUME 93 ISSUE 15
CHRONICLE
TUESDAY April 28, 2026
KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
NEWS
Music industry internships help students fulfill their dreams
By Juliana Calcao
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Photo courtesy of Dylan Weglicki
KYLE recieved a Recording Industry Association of America Diamond Certificatation for his song “iSPY” with Lil Yachty.
KYLE headlines Music Fest 2026
By Katelyn Buchalter ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Lights, vendors and students created a lively atmosphere at Hoftra University’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Saturday, April 18, for Music Fest 2026. Hofstra Concerts organized the live performances so that they included emerging bands Shy Flyer and married, knot, along with bigger artists Daniel Jenkins and Kyle Thomas Harvey, most popularly known as KYLE, who headlined the show. Hofstra Concerts President and senior music business major Meghan McIsaac and senior Vice President MeiLi Haan, who has a double major in music business and sustainability studies, discussed the preparation for Music Fest and the difficulty around balancing the budget compared to previous years. “[The Student Government Association] does the best that they can, given what they’re
able to provide to us,” said McIsaac. “They’re trying to [give] as much money to all the clubs, so we’re really grateful for every penny that we get. It’s been
big deal. We [had] some other departments involved as well. Audiology [was] there, handing out headphones [and] earbuds to people.”
“I essentially have one job: that’s to make sure that [students] have fun. ” especially hard this past year. Again, we’re trying to budget our own money that we have.” Vendors at the live event included Redbull, Dunkin’ and the Hofstra Audiology Department. HX Hair Salon, which gave out free hair tinsel, and Headcount – an organization dedicated to registering voters – had vending spaces as well. “Headcount does a lot of stuff with individual concerts, like arena shows and stuff,” Haan said. “So the fact that they’re coming to campus is a
Planning for the event began last summer. Hofstra Concerts e-board members started with a large list of potential performers and trimmed it over the course of the year. “We start making a list of a bunch of artists – I want to say, maybe 300 plus artists on the list,” McIsaac said. “We just start getting some ideas, and then, throughout the year, the summer, throughout the fall, we start kind of dwindling that down.”
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Whether their eyes are blinded by photographers’ flashing lights or by whatever last night’s press release writing grind was, music industry professionals often see their work romanticized. The reality of a career in music is very different than the one that the tabloids present. Students find that an internship in the music industry is often a lesson of balance between enjoying the glamour and committing to hard work. Through professional experiences, Lindsay Batzar – a senior media and communications and film studies double major at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania – has learned that her juvenile dreams of working in music are plausible. Throughout her time at Muhlenberg, Batzar has had a total of three internships in the music industry: two with The Syndicate, an entertainmentbased public relations (PR) agency in Weehawken, New Jersey, and one with Q Prime Artist Management, a music management company in New York City. These opportunities nourished her growth in the world of PR,
applying and expanding her knowledge from the classroom. She practiced marketing tasks, such as writing blurbs for new releases, researching influencers and artists and pitching decks for events and collaborations. Kayla Gonzales, a current graduate student at Rutgers University, shares a similar testimony. This May, Gonzales will graduate with her master’s degree in communication and media studies, digital media and strategic leadership communication Gonzales also interned with The Syndicate in 2024, where she had her first red carpet experience at the Libera Awards. The work included distributing press clippings, updating artist reports, managing songs and assisting the PR team with various duties and responsibilities. At the red carpet event, she helped the team guide attendees through the carpet and performed duties in the VIP room, such as handing out gift bags to celebrities. As the New York Chapter Intern for The Recording Academy – the company that hosts the Grammys – Gonzales became acustomed to a fast pace enviroment of the industry.
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Kumba Jagne / The Hofstra Chronicle
In a July 2025 survey conducted by Strada, 65% of respondents reported taking an internship to gain experience.