\u201cI found out that I was able to transfer in the full 60,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd at that point I had taken enough courses that it meant I had about 72 out of the necessary 120 credits to graduate. I was like, \u2018I\u2019m already more than halfway there, I can do this!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the perks of working at Berklee Online is that employees can utilize tuition assistance for courses. They can even pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree, though very few have the patience and perseverance that it takes to do so. Even when money is no object, time still is! Roughly seven years after taking his first course, Zawada became just one of only a handful of Berklee Online employees to graduate from the institution that employs him. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Music Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving that moment onstage was great,\u201d says Zawada about the Commencement ceremony earlier this month, \u201cand being able to be psyched about the accomplishment. I couldn\u2019t have done it without the support of my wife, Courtney, my friends, family, and bandmates.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n That doesn\u2019t mean that his journey was easy. Working full-time and taking six credits at a time is one thing, but when there\u2019s a new baby in the house, that\u2019s something else altogether. In May of 2019, Zawada and his wife Courtney welcomed their first child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI found out pretty quickly that it was too much,\u201d he says about the year after his daughter was born. \u201cI took a solid year off from taking classes, which I think was necessary in terms of learning how to juggle family responsibilities and work. So I waited for my daughter to get older and gain some independence, and in the meantime there was zero pressure from Berklee to finish the degree, and no fear that I\u2019d lose my spot, which was really nice. I could wait until I felt like I was in a place in life where I could resume concentrating and effectively knock the courses out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zawada says that taking the same courses as the students he advised was beneficial to his relationships with them. Occasionally the students he advised would also be his classmates. In addition to helping him better advise his students, his Berklee Online courses have come in handy for helping him promote his band, the Blue Moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor one of my final projects I promoted a concert for my band, and had a film crew come out, and now we have that to send to people for booking,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019d have done that had I not taken courses that got me to think about how to promote the band in that way.\u201d ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Zawada-daughta.jpeg\")
Zawada works on an assignment while helping out with a late night feeding.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of my students, Jason Harris, who just graduated as well, and is now pursuing his master\u2019s degree, was in the Songwriting for Film and TV<\/a><\/em> class with me, and we actually worked on an assignment together in that class, which was really cool,\u201d says Zawada. \u201cSo that certainly added a level of additional bonding to that relationship, having actually worked on a song together and made it that much cooler to meet him in person at Commencement.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Zawada-and-friends.jpg\")
Zawada talks to Jason Harris, a student he advised and now considers a friend at Commencement in May of 2023.<\/strong>
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