Sabella Reyes: In a League of her Own
- Avant Media Institute mgmt
- Oct 8
- 4 min read
Written by Lucia Sanchez Solis
When Sabella received her plaque for joining our alumni wall of fame, she quite literally jumped for joy. Bella (pronounced bey-ah), as she prefers to be called, told us she had been wanting to see herself on that bright yellow wall since its inception. Her journey meandered from a childhood filled with music, enlisting in the U.S Navy right at 18, to being a Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Non-profit President/Executive Producer/Audio Engineer. Bella’s story is full of turns, yet the roads she takes always seem to lead towards success.
“I like to say I was raised by music.”
From Florida to… Everywhere!
Raised in South Florida, Bella was surrounded by many musically inclined people in her family, so venturing into the music world was only natural for her. She even got a small start as a recording artist as a teenager, but unfortunately that did not work out. Life redirected her, and she turned her attention to military service to find security and stability during an unpredictable time in her life. Bella served in the U.S Navy, but felt a tugging at her to be involved in the music industry once more. She ran to music again to discover who she was, regain her independence and sense of identity, and was drawn to the independent music scene. She knew her purpose was to pursue music and she was ready to dive straight back in again, but after 10 years of service, the music industry and the music landscape had changed drastically into something she could no longer navigate.
Bella also had many things to unlearn. To start, everything seemed so high-stakes and serious. She had to learn how to do things for fun, how to enjoy the process and not let rules take the joy out of her creative work. One major thing she had to learn was to polish her interpersonal skills, as this time she was venturing into the music space to be a producer and not the talent. She recalls having to learn how to handle creative conflict with her clients with sensitivity and tact. It wasn’t all bad though, she credits her time in the military for helping her grow her confidence, and helping her be more focused on achieving her dreams despite any difficulties that come up. The time came to dive deeper into her career in music, but to do what… and where exactly?
In her Education Era
After she discovered AMI, Bella looked into our program and realized she could get the formal training she needed to better work with her clients: to learn and to speak the same language of audio, production and engineering terminology. She also felt she could grow in a formal learning environment to better help her diverse clientele.
Her student experience was a bit different than most though, as she was simultaneously studying to receive her clinical license for practicing social work. Although she felt challenged due to the amount of work on her plate, Bella was grateful for AMI’s staff and how the accommodations she received allowed her to do her clinical supervision hours, then go to class. Her classmates and instructors also helped to keep her on track, but most ultimately Bella’s effort and drive led her to get the most out of every class she took during her time at Avant, and finish the program strong, ready to take on whatever came her way next.
“I just felt nothing but love, support, and encouragement my entire Avant experience.”
Still Raising the Bar
After graduating from AMI, Bella now felt that she could implement music industry standards into her work with a focus on what happens after studio sessions: developing her clients to help set them up for success so they could eventually help themselves and make a living/career from their music.
Nowadays Bella still continues to nurture her musical side by giving back to the independent music community. She is the Board President and Executive Director of Track Society, a non profit organization that helps and supports independent musicians by offering training, access to workshops, advocacy and more. Spearheading Track Society has been rewarding for her as she can now see the tangible impact of her work and can effectively and directly support her community, especially through hosting events like TrackMeet. TrackMeet is an independent music summit where up and coming creatives can learn, network, and ultimately grow in their craft. From winding roads, it all came back full circle, and Avant partnered up with Bella– by hosting and sponsoring the past 2 TrackMeet summits– and her former AMI instructor and mentor Maestro serves as Track Society’s Director of Education.
Bella is a force to be reckoned with, and she is only getting started; she hopes to expand the reach of TrackMeet and start hosting the event in other cities. Her ongoing desire to keep growing and helping others is the reason she is where she is. To other go-getters like Bella, her advice is simple:
“You have a vision, get with likeminded people, you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Her innate ambition led her to succeeding before, during and after her time here at Avant. We are lucky to have been a part of her educational journey, and even luckier to collaborate with her on her future endeavors.
For the full podcast episode with Sabella and our 201 Instructor Maestro, visit our youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@avantmediainstitute
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