(The Daily Orange | Feb. 16, 2022) Gustavo Eumana always knew he wanted to get into music. A senior at Syracuse University, Eumana has an ear for beats and music compositions, but he never had access to production equipment.
“I hadn’t done it before, because I didn’t have the equipment,” Eumana said, “I would just be in my room or like … on the train or something listening to music. I would just tap my fingers on my (knee) and I’ll try to listen to the beat — I’ll pretty much try to deconstruct the song in my head.”
Since getting involved in the SENSES Project, which stands for Studying an Environment that Nurtures Self-Exploration in Students, Eumana has been able to produce his own beats, and so have others. The SENSES Project, housed in the Office of Supportive Services at SU, is an initiative dedicated to providing students part of Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and Student Support Services (SSS) at SU access to high-quality equipment and lessons for music production and podcasting.
“It’s nice to be able to just come here and do what I like doing,” Caleb Aguirre-Leon, a freshman at SU, said. “I love making music and being able to just not have to … be conscious about every single thing that you do. Because here, it’s like I can make mistakes.”
The SENSES Project’s space has designated equipment for students to produce, play and mix music as well as a separate office for podcasting. Students are free to use the equipment in the Audio Lab during SENSES’ open hours on Mondays from 1-5 p.m., Thursdays from 4-5 p.m. and Fridays from 12-5 p.m.
Nick Piato, a music education graduate student and Educational Assistant for the SENSES Project, occupies the Audio Lab during those times. Piato is focused on incorporating students’ interests in modern music to the work he does in the Audio Lab.
“It’s less of a classroom environment … (and) more of open lab hours,” Piato said. “It’s more project-based kind of learning. So I’m just there to like, facilitate the technology and kind of help guide those goals, but it’s often times pretty hands-off” …
Learn about the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) and Student Support Services (SSS), part of the School of Education’s Center for Academic Achievement and Student Development, as well as the SENSES Project.