ATLANTA —Asking Presidential Scholar Micah Mondt to pick his favorite movie is like asking a parent to pick their favorite child. But ask him to pick his favorite movie soundtrack, and he has an answer: “Schindler’s List.”
He admits it’s a heavy choice, but perfect if you ever need a good cry.
Mondt hopes to become a film composer. He started writing music in junior high.
“I was writing music but thought there was no way I could make a career out of it. Eventually, around my sophomore year, I felt like there was no way I could do anything other than write music,” he said.
“For me, music is all about stories, and I think that’s a big reason I want to be a film composer. Because it’s music for a story.”
Mondt’s early music career started with piano lessons, when he admits he was probably a bit too young to appreciate it.
“My siblings were doing it, and they were at the age where probably they were ready for it,” he said. “I think I started too soon, and I hated it.”
He quit and didn’t take up the piano again until he was in high school.
In the meantime, he learned to play trombone and French horn. He also got involved with regional theater and did some singing and acting. He is currently studying voice in the School of Music.
Since coming to Georgia State, Mondt has been working under Ben Yonas on a project called MTM Standard Music Group, which is a student-run record label and music distribution service and sync house. The music group was funded as part of Georgia State’s Project RISE challenge.
He wrote a march for wind band under the direction of Nickitas Demos and thinks occasionally about writing a musical. His goal, though, is still writing for movies.
“When it came to film composition, I thought, ‘What better place than Georgia State?’”
To learn more about the Presidential Scholarship, visit honors.gsu.edu/the-presidential-scholarship. Students can now apply to both the Stamps and Presidential scholarships, the university’s premiere academic awards, with one application.