Full Sail Stories

As an audio nerd with 15 years of experience working in the sound engineering space, Full Sail Course Director Susan Kost brings a breadth of knowledge to her Audio Arts class (which is part of the Show Production, Audio Production , and Recording Arts degree programs). She often tells stories from her career to share wisdom with her students.

“Culturally, we relate by telling stories,” Susan says. “So I think for me, it's important to share some of [my work] stories, especially if they're hard or if I messed up. I like to share those, too.”

In Audio Arts, Susan calls on her professional experiences to introduce her students to a variety of equipment — such as wireless microphones, cameras, lighting consoles, PA systems, and recording devices — and educate them on their respective uses.

Prior to teaching at Full Sail, Susan had extensive career experience as an audio technician for local theme parks, a cruise line, and the Orlando Family Stage (formerly the Orlando Repertory Theatre), which she still freelances for from time to time. Her job at the theater includes running sound system checks to make sure the speakers and microphones are working properly before shows, and then mixing sound during performances. She’s adept at both line-by-line mixing for musical theater and front-of-house mixing for bands, but she loves theater mixing most.

One of Susan’s favorite projects she’s worked on is sound mixing for The Amazing Acro-Cats shows at the Orlando Family Stage. The show involves a troupe of trained cats who perform various tricks for audiences, such as riding skateboards, jumping through hoops, balancing on balls, and playing instruments.

Another of Susan’s passion projects is being the executive producer of the SoundGirls Podcast, where Susan and an audio engineer friend amplify the voices of women and gender minorities in the audio industry. She also recently graduated with a master’s degree in Media Forensics from the University of Colorado, where she focused on advanced techniques in forensic audio, image, and video analysis.

Throughout her time at Full Sail, Susan’s teaching philosophy has evolved. “[My philosophy] has grown from being hands-on and up close with students to stepping back and thinking, ‘What do I want to tell them? How do I want to communicate this to them so it'll mean something to them, and they'll be able to take that on their journey?’” Susan shares.

“I care about [the students’] values, their attitude, and the way that they are. I hope that they take what they learned or what we've talked about in class, and they carry that with them so that they can be successful later. I love it when my students are successful.”