Full Sail University recently had the pleasure to welcome former Major League Baseball pitcher and World Series Champion Adam Wainwright to campus for a special closed-door concert and Q&A session for students, faculty, and staff. Hosted in the Full Sail Live venue, the athlete-turned-musician worked with Full Sail’s Live Event crew to produce a live concert recording of songs from his upcoming debut album.

Working with Adam on his new career as a country musician, Recording Arts graduate and in:ciite Media CEO Chris Thomason worked with Full Sail’s Alumni Relations team to bring the recording to Full Sail’s industry-standard campus facilities.

Former MLB Pitcher Adam Wainwright performs for students and staff in the Full Sail Live Venue.

“It’s an amazing campus, I told the students I got lost in it three times already,” said Adam after seeing the scope of Full Sail’s facilities. “But what a cool place. What a blessing it is for young people to come and learn their craft at a high level like this.”

Before the concert – which was open to all university students, faculty, and staff – Adam and Chris joined Full Sail Education Director Brandon Egerton for a Q&A session where attendees had the chance to ask questions about topics spanning audio engineering, songwriting, baseball, and career pivots.

“I loved interacting with the students, they asked such good questions and you can tell their excitement level for their careers ahead. It’s cool to see people who really know what they want to do and want to get better at it,” shared Adam after the panel.

Aside from connecting with the accomplished former athlete, students also got to gain hands-on experience working in production roles during the concert recording. Providing unique resume additions with roles in camera operation, lighting, audio, and stage management.

“Bringing recent production experience directly into a classroom presentation and allowing students to learn about the techniques and technical process of the production serves as an invaluable way of enriching the educational experience for every student,” said Full Sail Vice President of Alumni & Events Jay Noble.

During the panel, Adam shared his journey to music and how his approach to the music industry compares to his approach to his 18 seasons and World Series victory with the St. Louis Cardinals.

“There were always people who threw harder than me, who had a nastier fastball, or better change-ups, but for some reason, I always felt like I was the best…and even if that wasn’t true, I thought it was. So I got the most out of my ability. So I’m going to try to harness that in music, I know for a fact I’m not the best singer in Nashville…but I’m gonna believe that I am.”