Brad Williams was enrolled for a communication major at Cerritos College in 1972, but now he is not only a part time instructor in Audio and Video production, he is also able to recruit students into his parallel business in the same field.

“I was a staff employee in the instructional media center for seven years, and during that time obtained my California teaching credentials and began teaching classes here when I was about 25; I taught sound recording technique, TV production, and I am currently teaching live concert sound basics for a portable event production class,” Williams said.

After having earned a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunication and Film at California State Fullerton in 1980, Williams started his own business.

“On Tracks” is an Audio and Video Production company, which provides live concert, sound, and recording studio.

The company also does video production, sound systems, consultation, repairs and installations.

“So we cover a wide variety of audio and video services, and my background more than anything else, helps me teaching the class I teach,” Williams said.

Williams is able to adjust his business with his teaching career because, he teaches only once a week for ten weeks.

Teaching a subject that is related to his business activity does helps Williams stay on top of new technology. It so happens, fifty percent of On Tracks’ business is live concert sound, and this is what the students are learning in class: the basics of live sound technology.

The subject Williams is teaching at the college, is little different from what it takes him to train a new employee, so, it gives him a pool of young folks who can come and work for him at a future date.

Some students in the class, however, expressed some difficulty in following the class. Nonetheless, these students acknowledged that they were able to get over the problems through Williams’s hands on teaching.

“I’ve never been hands on like that before,” Crystal Guenes, arts major, said. She explained that being a novice it is a little bit harder for her to grab things, although she has a set of friends who can help her along.

Another student, Ignatio Martinez, a sound stage and lighting major also said that the course is hard and you have to pay attention, although the class does “hands on” after each initial lecture, then everything is sorted.

In response to student feedback as to how successful they feel, Williams said, “there is always a wide variety like in any population-pool. There are folks who could probably face the final before I even taught the class. And there are folks who probably have to take it again.”

However to be successful in their chosen careers, Wiiliams advised the students to be thorough with basics, be on time, be attentive, do the homework, be motivated, and be ready to make sacrifices.

Although Williams’s may have passed the peak of his career, he said, “I just like to work as long as I can because it’s fun. It’s not like a job. It’s almost like a hobby. It’s different every day, and if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t be doing it.”