Nathan is from Bundoran, Co Donegal. He attended ColAiste Cholmcille, Ballyshannon and progressed to Cavan Institute to undertake and complete the QQI Level 5 Music and Sound Production course.
“After receiving my Leaving Cert results in 2019 I was very disappointed with my results as I just missed out on my CAO course by 6 points as I wanted to go to Maynooth University. I knew that I wanted to study music in college, but I didn’t want to repeat my leaving cert. So, I decided to do a level 5 QQI/Btec course in music and sound production here in Cavan Institute. Little did I know that doing a PLC in Cavan Institute was the best thing for me at that time, as I made a lot of new friends who were interested in music as much as I am. In my course, I got to learn the piano and I improved on my music theory also. When I went to Cavan Institute I had little to no knowledge about music production nor music technology which was a worry for me at first but with the help of my tutors and my fellow colleagues I learned so much about the production/technology side of the course.
Studying in Cavan Institute has taught me very important skills for college such as getting used to ‘Moodle’, academic referencing in assignments was very important for me to learn as I'll always have to do that in college. I also learned how to take in information in a college unlike secondary school, college has a different way of teaching you the information you need for your assignments/exams.
I also got to do work experience in a recording studio in Sligo called ‘Electric Eye Recording Studio’. This was a big benefit for me as I learn skills in the recording studio that will help me for my career in the future and the information that I learned about the recording studio will help me understand future topics that will come up in my studies.
I got involved in the music society in Cavan Institute which gave me more confidence when performing as I got to play at different events such as the ‘Cavan Institute Song Contest’. I was the interval act and I got to meet an Irish Eurovision Winner ‘Charlie McGettigan’ that was awesome!
I was also involved in the GAA for Cavan Institute. We had an excellent season winning the All Ireland Shield. When our college closed to due Covid-19, our exams were changed to assignments. I had to work hard on them so that I get the chance to get an offer from Maynooth University. I was really determined to get an offer from Maynooth University, so I had worked hard since September. Once I finished my final assessments for college, I had to wait until August to see if I got an offer from Maynooth University by the CAO.
I was delighted that I received a ‘Round 0’ offer from Maynooth as they accepted me from my QQI grades here in Cavan Institute. Now I will be studying Music and Music Technology at Maynooth University.
My advice if you're not happy with your Leaving Cert results, and that you know what you want to study, a PLC course is right for you. The best thing about a PLC is that you get to enjoy what your studying and you will be given great opportunities to improve your skills, you get a certification at the end of the year and you can aim to get on the CAO course you wanted by your QQI grades, and lastly, the best thing for me was that I got to meet new people and to make friends with the coolest people ever in my course.”