5 Tips for Student Success with Nikolas Lukosius

Trebas graduate Nikolas Lukosius shares his top tips for students.

Nikolas Lukosius has always had an interest in audio, with a background working in audio production, as an independent artist and DJing. Despite this, Nikolas wanted to broaden his horizons.

“I wanted to sharpen my skills and seek job avenues in the entertainment industry,” he said.

Trebas provided Nikolas with the guidance he needed to achieve those goals. Read on to learn about his background in audio, his five tips for Trebas students, and more.

First Impressions

Nikolas quickly appreciated Trebas Institute Ontario’s intimate campus, which allows for valuable networking opportunities.

Some of Nikolas’ highlights from his time at Trebas included learning different music and DJ production skills, including audio recording, and editing, advanced production techniques and exploring the industry's business side.

Highlights

Nikolas credited Trebas Institute Ontario’s combination of practical and theoretical learning with providing him the building blocks of an audio production career.

“Trebas gave me an understanding of the tools being used in audio production to make bands sound good,” he noted.

This helped lead to his success in his current position as an audio/visual (A/V) technician at Epiq Vision.

5 Tips for Trebas Students from Nikolas

1. Make connections whenever you can

One of Nikolas’ favourite experiences was learning Abelton live from Jason Quinn, a graduate of and current audio instructor at Trebas, whom Nikolas formed a meaningful connection with. Nikolas stressed the importance of making connections like this, as collecting feedback and advice from these vital sources will give you advantages for your career.

He noted, “Keeping good connections with counsellors helped me a lot to learn about events and opportunities.”

2. Always practice, practice, practice

Nikolas noted the importance of practice.

“You should always sharpen your skills and muscle memory, and the school gives you the tools and resources you need to succeed,” he said.

Practicing your skills in audio production and engineering is the best way to improve them and become more proficient. To hone these skills, students can use the ProTools and DJ Arts Lab, MIDI Lab, Audio Studio, and computers at any time, as well as ask their industry-experienced instructors for help to master a new skill.

3. Always collaborate with classmates

Nikolas said that collaborating with classmates who have similar interests and goals is one of the best pieces of advice he could give.

“The more people you know the more leverage you have,” which will help you a tremendous amount throughout your journey at Trebas and beyond.

Working together with classmates on projects can be an incredibly effective way of doing this, as sharing ideas and advice with your fellow classmates will help improve your skills and prepare you for the future.

4. Showcase all of your work

Nikolas described how students will complete various projects at Trebas and noted how incredibly important it is for students to create a portfolio of their work and demo reels.

“It is important to know what industry you want to go in, and that should be reflected in your portfolio, but avoid shutting out different opportunities by including all your work,” he said.

By creating a portfolio and demo reel like this, you can advertise your best skills while still displaying various other skills to show flexibility and the range of your talents.

5. Always take risks and step out of your comfort zone

Nikolas’ final tip was about not being afraid to take chances. He mentioned that a skilled trade like audio engineering does not come overnight, and though it can be daunting, students should remember everyone is at a different point in their journey.

“Be committed but step out of your comfort zone and have fun along the way,” Nikolas said.

Whether you are pursuing work in DJ Arts, or as an audio production engineer, this is certainly advice you should take to heart.

We thank Nikolas for his time and wish him all the best and continued success in his future endeavours.