Intern Feature: Nicholas Mendez
Today we feature Nick Mendez, one of our Brass Mash interns! Nick is our lead intern and supports the band in many capacities. We also love supporting him when he plays music between our sets!
Lead Intern Nick Mendez
What got you interested in working with Brass Mash?
I was busking in Avila Beach, and Colin approached me. This was before he even had interns - he approached me with the idea that he’s been thinking about bringing on interns. I think I was the first. I was totally for it, for the networking aspect, and just being around it. I love music and live music specifically. There’s just something about the energy that’s different.
What have you learned in the process of working with Brass Mash?
I’ve been pretty good at communicating with all types of people, but more so focusing on promoting Brass Mash as an organization to the fans. That was something I’ve come to learn - I’ve put myself on the backburner in terms of promotion. Colin has actually been getting on me about this - to promote myself as well. I mainly focus on how I can promote you guys - how can I spread the word about you guys more?
How do you hope to leverage your experience for the future?
Some part of me wants to be an entrepreneur - either if it’s business, or just creating music. I’m into web development as well. Being able to manage people has always been something I’ve been focused on. I have two other jobs right now, and one of them is also a management position. Moving here, I took on a management position at Jersey Mike’s. I’ve been trying to stay in that arena, and be able to delegate tasks and instill motivation in the people I supervise.
That’s one of the biggest aspects I feel like I’ll take from this experience. There’s a lot of down time, especially, at this kind of thing. Being able to check in with people, see how they’re doing, suggest if they could be doing other tasks, and building connections. The interns like different things - social media, promotion, music production. It’s been cool to network in that way, and I don’t think that would have happened if I wasn’t in a management position. It forces me to really get to know who’s on my team.
What are your future plans?
I’m not sure of a timeline, I’m not sure I’ll have all the skills I’ll need yet. I have a lot of restaurant experience, so I’ve always thought about opening a small restaurant, or even my own gym because I’m really into fitness as well. Right now I’ve been focusing on computer science because it makes a lot more money and I’m able to think in a logical way, so it helps. I’m not sure where this will take me, but I’m trying to collect as many skills as I can to prepare myself for the future.
