Alum of the Week: Justin Harmond
Taraz Lincoln, Life Editor: What made you initially decide to apply to Exeter, what made you decide to come to Exeter, and did you have an idea in your head of what you were going to be doing?
Justin Harmond ’11: So I was a part of Prep for Prep, a leadership program that takes students of color from New York City and prepares them for private day and boarding schools. It was an academic boot camp that prepared me for the start of my Exeter journey as I was able to take classes at Milton and Lawrenceville for two years prior. I originally thought boarding school was a punishment, like going to military school! I had no idea going to boarding school was a viable option until Prep recruited me in middle school. From there, they showed me a brand new world. Being able to actually tour campuses at that point really opened my eyes up to what was possible for me. From then on, I knew I wanted to go to a place like Exeter because I was excited about being on a campus and being able to do cool things with my time. Not only that, but their admissions videos really won me over.
TL: For sure. I guess you came to campus and decided, okay, this is not a military boot camp and breathed a sigh of relief.
JH: I came off that bus in the fall, and I will never forget how beautiful the foliage was as a kid from New York City. That's something that you can't forget, the red brick buildings and the red and yellow leaves scattered on the paths. Everything felt pleasant!
TL: For sure. And so while you're at the Academy, I understand you were the founder of the ERA (Exeter Rap Association), and you had a senior project with one of your fellow seniors where you produced a hip hop album. And so did this initial passion of yours have any kind of influence on who you are today or your career immediately after Exeter?
JH: I was always a musical person. I had been playing instruments from an early age and my father was an entrepreneurial person. I never really combined those two passions until I got to Exeter. I initially received some pushback from members of the staff who inaccurately stereotyped hip-hop as being misogynistic and violent, but I knew there was a rich community of hip-hop lovers on campus that was hard to ignore, so we pushed to make the club a reality. We hosted weekly meetings to discuss various topics related to hip-hop but our bread and butter was hosting concerts and dances. Student entertainment on campus felt a little random at that time. Our weekend options would cycle between ventriloquists, acapella groups and local mobile DJs from New Hampshire. I looked at how much money Exeter had in comparison to a lot of the colleges that were hosting big “Spring Fling” events with celebrity talent and I thought there was an opportunity to bring entertainers on campus that students were excited to see without breaking our budgets. I worked really closely with Ms. McGahie in Student Activities, someone I still consider a mentor, to get the students involved in picking the talent. We were very successful and were able to host a lot of concerts with acts like Chiddy Bang, Jasmine Solano, and Hoodie Allen. We'd have people lined up, camping out in front of Grainger for a student concert, which we had never seen before. We even booked Mac Miller one year but had to cancel after some unforeseen circumstances came up. It’s bittersweet knowing we were so close to having him on campus! Since concerts were at ERA’s core, my senior project, a student-produced hip-hop album, was a way to raise funds for future ERA concerts so we weren’t always reliant on Student Activities’ budgets. Producing the album and making club t-shirts was a way for us to make products that we could then sell back to students to raise money in order to host better concerts for them. The cool part about the album was that we were able to make it a purely Exonian effort. Every artist, rapper, singer, writer, or producer on the project was a current student, a staff member or an alum, which was something that was really cool to put together in that regard. We even had a submission from John Forte ’93 who was a major contributor to the Fugees’ legendary debut album, The Score. The process of organizing a group based around music, booking concerts and launching an album start-to-finish: producing it, recording it, pressing it into actionable CDs, marketing it, and selling it…really helped me early on when my primary occupation was managing artists and putting out projects early on when I started RKLS. My experience with ERA was absolutely the foundation for my entrance into the music industry.
TL: And so you graduated in 2011- did you have an idea of what you wanted to do after Exeter? Did you have an idea of what kind of career you wanted to take or where your passions would lead you?
JH: I was lucky enough to figure it out while in high school so I immediately jumped into the music world when I came back home to New York City for college. Because I was hosting events and concerts on campus, I was able to get college recommendations written by booking agents. From there it was a no-brainer to try and intern for them while in college. Nobody should ever feel the pressure to figure out their career path by the end of high school however, you have plenty of time! That being said, I would encourage current students to take advantage of Exeter to try new things and figure out what they’re passionate about. It’s that exploration that will ultimately help you find your place.
TL: Right. And so I guess my next question would be, as the founder of RKLS and as an Exeter alum, you talked a little bit about taking advantage of Exeter and New York. What are some things that helped you get to where you are now?
JH: The phrase “reckless abandon” was a phrase that we used to throw around Wentworth all the time, back in the day. It was essentially about taking risks and being okay taking a leap of faith. I don't know if that's necessarily something that Exeter itself has taught me, but it was something that I learned from my time there: how important it was to take risks. When you go to a school like Exeter, it’s very easy to play things safe. “I'm on a great path right now. I don't want to ruin this. I want to live life by the book.” There's a lot of things you don't want to do, and there's a lot of mistakes you don't want to make, but I do think there's something to be said about being willing to take certain risks. Taking advantage of Exeter’s resources allowed me to play around with things and take risks while doing it in a safe space where certain stakes weren't as high. I was able to experiment with producing an album without the pressure of needing to go platinum or recoup a label advance. Another Exeter experience that shaped me was starting the Wentworth House of Pancakes, a student business I started with my best friend Angus. We would buy ingredients at Stop and Shop and bike back to campus. Every Sunday we'd set up shop in the Wentworth basement and would make pancakes paired with orange juice, eggs and bacon. It was pretty successful on campus and got support from some of the faculty who took their kids to WHOP for their weekly pancake fix. We even got written up in Trendwatch! As somebody who was not particularly trendy, that was a big moment for me. I might not be best dressed, but at least they recognized me for my pancakes.
TL: And would you say that's one of the more important things to bear in mind when starting your own business, or do you have any advice for current students who might be interested in a similar path?
H: I think when starting a business, especially when you're younger, is not to try and do everything at once. And to start slow and build up because when I started RKLS, I had a lot of big plans that required a lot of people and resources. I remember sitting down with one of my mentors who later introduced me to Steve Stoute, one of the biggest music and entertainment executives out there. She told me straight up “you need to cut this down a little bit, start slow, start small.” We were able to build from there and we built with our artists and then tapped into different opportunities as they came about. The same approach applies to personnel. See what you can do first build, figure out where you need help and then find people who can help you who are better at that than you are, and keep building from there.
TL: Finally, what would you say is the best advice you could give to current Exeter students and anything else you'd like to add?
JH: Don't just let your time at Exeter slip by and take advantage of everything it has to offer you. If you have any inkling of a passion, and if there's a part in you that says, “I want to do this when I'm older” and that’s something that Exeter can help you tap into then now, do it. If what you’re looking for isn’t there yet, then fight until they have it. I had to fight to make the ERA hip-hop album a reality and to show that it was a worthwhile project for the faculty to support. Luckily it worked out, as it has been a project that a lot of people keep near and dear to their heart. A lot of the people that were involved are doing amazing things now. Just look at Stefan Kohli ’14! He was featured on the album as a Prep and just directed a music video with Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat!
TL: That is good advice because it’s a good reminder just to utilize what we have here at Exeter.
JH: Absolutely! College admissions is one example of why this is important. Out of all of the students who got into Columbia from Exeter in the year 2011, I was the only person to receive a merit-based scholarship, but I had the lowest GPA out of anybody accepted in that class. At a certain point, I also realized that academics really weren't everything. Instead of trying to fight for the best grade and always get an 11, I thought it was equally important for the world to see me as a well-rounded person, somebody with interests and passions and the ability to lead. Unlike some schools, Exeter has so much to offer outside of the classroom!
