How Isaac Ridgely found his groove
Wheeling native Isaac Ridgely, a May 2025 graduate with a major in music business
and industry and a minor in music technology, said for him, the program had a transformative
impact.
"Being part of Mon Hills is really the best and only way to develop an understanding
about the industry we all want to work in,” he said.
Ridgely, who also plays in a local Latin band in his spare time, experienced just
about every aspect there is in the music business during his time at Mon Hills.
“My freshman year, I was just thrown in to learn what I liked,” he explained. “I
started out working in the live events department, booking artists and handling
live shows. The next year, I moved to the streaming department where we handled
getting all the music from the label on radio stations and editorial playlists,
as well as managing the metadata of our artists and reporting on streaming trends.
I was director of operations my junior year, which included a lot of different
experiences, and for my last year with Mon Hills I worked as the general manager,
managing all the label’s goals, projects, teams, campaigns, communications, etc.,
and learning how to delegate a lot of things.”
Ridgely said the experience had a profound effect on him and his résumé.
“
Honestly, I don't think many students have the opportunity to compile this
impressive of a résumé in terms of experience and skills coming out of college.
I really do believe this path has prepared me very well for what comes next.
”
— Isaac Ridgely
Ava Allen, a vinyl girlboss in the making
Ava Allen, Chantilly, Virginia, native, second-year sophomore and the director of
operations for Mon Hills during the spring 2025 semester, said WVU was the only
place where she could see a clear path toward her passion.
“I toured over a dozen schools and went to countless more tabling events when I was
trying to figure out where I wanted to go to school,” she said. “I’d been playing
guitar since I was 12 and in my final years of high school, I realized that music
was something that I wanted to make my profession. I looked at so many schools
with music technology programs and then I came to visit WVU. The huge emphasis
on professional development, and the fact that the professors here were interested
in what I wanted to do and what I wanted to make out of my degree, that sealed
the deal for me. It was the only university that I applied to and here I am.”
Allen said finding her footing at Mon Hills was a slow progression for her as a freshman
majoring in music business and industry with a minor in theatrical production,
and that she’s definitely grown into the role she currently fills there — managing
a little bit of everything.
“My dream job would be getting involved with pressing vinyl records. I love vinyl
and have a huge collection. I am in love with everything about it, from manufacturing
it to buying and playing the records. It just endlessly fascinates me,” she said.
“My experience at Mon Hills is helping to prepare me for that dream job, especially
learning the business side of the industry, including networking and how to present
myself. I’ve already noticed how much I’ve grown professionally.”
“
My experience at Mon Hills is helping to prepare me for that dream job, expecially
learning the business side of the industry, including networking and how
to present myself. I've already noticed how much I've grown professionally.
”
— Ava Allen
And for all of Allen’s certainty about WVU and her chosen career path, her parents
were much more cautious. She said they expressed concern to her about the unpredictability
of a career in the music industry and worried about her ability to find a job when
she graduated.
“Getting to show them all the things I’ve already done, all the things I’ve learned,
my paper trail of all this experience I’m accumulating and how it’s preparing me
for the real world, has really helped them come around,” she said. “I know they
just want me to have a good future, and it feels good to be able to show them how
possible that is for me doing exactly what I dream of doing.”