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Lynnsey Spader ’22, a music industry major, was part of a group of students that recently visited SiriusXM’s headquarters in New York City, where they met staff members and toured the studios where some of their favorite celebrities have gone on air.

March 12, 2019

By Lynnsey Spader ’22

Recently, the Career Development Center provided University of New Haven students with the opportunity to tour the SiriusXM headquarters in New York City and to meet with professionals at the company to discuss their backgrounds and their positions.

Alison Smith, director of internships at SiriusXM, was excited to inform the group of the new Pandora and SiriusXM merger, announced a week prior.

"This merger is expanding our group from our 35 million listeners, plus Pandora’s 73 million users," she said.

What does this mean for students pursuing opportunities in this competitive industry? Jobs and internships will be booming from this company, she said.

Students also met with Jared Fox, senior director of talent relations, and Vanessa Mojica, senior director of music programming operations, who discussed their daily operations at the station. Fox, who is in charge of bringing the talent into the station, explained that he pays attention to artists’ cues on social media.

"We believe in working as a team – if there’s a problem, we resolve it right then and there. If we can’t move on from it, these aren’t the people we want on our team." Vanessa Mojica, senior director of music programming operations

"Taylor Swift has gone on a social media blackout and has dropped small hints, so I’ve been on the phone making sure that the moment she decides to drop her next project, she’s coming to this building first," he said.

Mojica took the time to tell us, "We believe in working as a team – if there’s a problem, we resolve it right then and there. If we can’t move on from it, these aren’t the people we want on our team."

SiriusXM believes strongly in its diversity. "Improving and developing workforce diversity is a strategic imperative for our executive leadership team. We must attract, develop, and retain the nation's best talent from among the broadest range of people, backgrounds, and perspectives."