Jon Brody '88 returns to campus for PolyConnect

Sixteen Upper School students comprising mostly seniors turned out on Wednesday, Jan. 28, to hear Jon Brody '88 tell his journey from music talent scout to nonprofit fundraiser. After graduating from Poly, Jon went to Colgate University in New York, where he was the student director of the Colgate radio station for three years. Upon receiving his undergraduate degree in religious studies, Jon returned to Los Angeles to find a job in the music industry.

When Jon learned of and met the Dave Matthews Band—at the time, a little-known group touring East Coast colleges—he began pitching the group to major record labels. That decision “started this amazing roller coaster” working as an artist and repertoire scout for RCA. Jon estimates that over the next 15 years, he saw roughly 10,000 bands perform.

However, as the Internet grew and Napster became popular, the landscape of the music industry changed entirely. Jon suffered two job losses as a result of company mergers and layoffs, so he transitioned into the dot-com industry, which led to similar results. Jon decided to pursue a master's degree in social entrepreneurship and change at Pepperdine. As part of the program, he traveled to Nicaragua to help construct a learning garden in a rural village. The experience demonstrated for Jon the interconnectedness of all our actions, and he has worked in the nonprofit sector ever since.

Summing up his experiences and greatest pieces of advice, Jon told students that the most important thing about college is what experiences they make, not where they go — and he encouraged them use college to discover and explore their interests. Jon also encouraged students not to be afraid to pivot and take chances, something that served him well through many unexpected changes in his career.
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