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Some students leave college with a degree. Others leave with a calling. For Eastern Oregon University alumni Holly Sorenson ’13, Luke Basile ’13, and Gregory Rawlins ’11, ’22, music was the inspiration that set their futures in motion. Though their careers have taken them in different directions, they share a common thread: the mentoring they received.
At a small university where professors double as mentors, guides, and lifelong supporters, each of them found the confidence to turn their passion into a profession.
Holly Sorenson never expected her bachelor of music degree from Eastern Oregon University to pave the way for a career in health. Yet, more than a decade after graduating in 2013, Sorenson has blended her passions for music and helping others into a career that transforms lives.
“I didn’t set out to work at a nonprofit,” Sorenson said. “But during my final year, I completed an internship with NEON through a community service program. That experience opened my eyes to a field I’d never considered.”
Needing credit hours, she was directed by a faculty member to the Northeast Oregon Network (NEON). During her internship, Sorenson impressed her team with her quick learning and ability to build connections. By the time she graduated, NEON offered her a staff position, and her role grew over the years.
Today, she works with community health workers who help clients navigate complex systems, such as the Oregon Health Plan, and access vital resources like language interpretation and transportation.
While her career demands focus and dedication, Sorenson hasn’t left her music behind. She performs regularly with Bag of Hammers and the Depot Street Syncopators, local ensembles known for their energetic shows and community spirit.
“Both [music and nonprofit work] are about connection,” Sorenson said. “Whether it’s through a song or helping someone access healthcare, it’s about reaching people where they are.”
For Luke Basile, music was never just a hobby; it was a calling. After earning his bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2013, he turned his passion into a full-time career as a professional musician, recording engineer, and live performer.
Basile credits his mentors, including Dr. Matt Cooper, a faculty member at EOU for 31 years, and professor Luke McKern, a multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer, for shaping him as both a musician and a person.
“These mentors shaped me, and I couldn’t have asked for better role models,” Basile said. “The faculty at EOU were all gigging musicians themselves; seeing how seriously they took their craft made me realize that if I wanted to do this for a living, I had to take it just as seriously.”
Professors like McKern and Cooper provided Basile with a deeper understanding of music theory, structure, and rhythm. While he had always played by ear, EOU gave him the technical foundation that took his skills to the next level.
“I came into school as a self-taught musician, but I didn’t really understand the rules of music,” Basile said. “EOU taught me theory, timing, scales, and even how to break the rules creatively.”
After graduation, Basile built a career as a versatile musician, playing solo shows and collaborating with other artists. He also
found a home at Rainmaker Studios, where he has worked for the past decade.
“The studio gives me a way to stay connected to music even in my slower seasons,” he said. “In the winter, when there are fewer live gigs, I’m in the studio recording, mixing, and mastering. It keeps me creating year-round.”
If there is a throughline in Gregory Rawlins’ life, it has been a love for writing and music. A poet, writer, and former high school athlete, he found a community in EOU’s theatre department, an unexpected turn that shaped his artistic and professional path.
“It took me a little while to discover the notoriously weird theatre people,” Rawlins said with a laugh. “But once I did, I was taken with the community. It set me on a new trajectory. I say ‘weird’ in the most loving way.”
Restless and eager to explore, he took a break from school in 2005 to do relief work in post-Katrina New Orleans. The experience was transformative.
“The first night, we went straight into the French Quarter,” Rawlins recalled. “It was surreal—an entire city, nearly empty. It felt post-apocalyptic.”
While in New Orleans, Rawlins experienced the raw power of blues music in its most authentic form.
Traveling with fellow musician Luke McKern, the experience left a profound impression on the young musician.
“It changed the course of my life in many ways, especially musically,” he said. “I had never felt such a reverence for the arts as I did in New Orleans.”
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Rawlins lost many of his gigs and decided to re-enroll at EOU to earn his Master of Fine Arts. He reached out to former faculty before enrolling.
“I had known Dr. Nancy Knowles, a writing professor at EOU, for a long time, so I reached out to her,” he said. “That can only happen at EOU, with the incredible teacher-to-student ratio. I got in touch with people who are so passionate about the arts, and it just stayed with me.”
Today, Rawlins balances teaching in North Powder with writing and playing music. Though the road for independent musicians can be unpredictable, he embraces the challenges that come with it.
“Any working musician who isn’t Taylor Swift will tell you 99.9% of us are slumming it, sleeping on couches, hustling side jobs,” he said. “But it builds character, and for me, music is what grounds me. It’s my best offering to the world.”
Sorenson encourages students to embrace exploration and adaptability. “You don’t have to know exactly where you’re headed,” she said. “Be open to discovering new paths, your experiences will guide you.”
Basile urges young musicians to stay dedicated to their craft. “Surround yourself with great musicians, and always be open to learning,” he said. “I was lucky to have mentors at EOU who helped me understand not just how to play but how to make a career out of it.”
Rawlins keeps it simple: “Follow what fulfills you. Stay open to discovery. And most of all, keep creating.”
Whether performing, teaching, or working in nonprofit leadership, they prove that a passion for music, nurtured by strong mentors, can lead to meaningful and fulfilling careers and lives.
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