{"id":143555,"date":"2023-11-09T11:21:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T16:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=143555"},"modified":"2023-11-09T11:21:33","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T16:21:33","slug":"wright-state-electrical-engineering-graduate-keeps-his-native-american-culture-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2023\/11\/09\/wright-state-electrical-engineering-graduate-keeps-his-native-american-culture-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State electrical engineering graduate keeps his Native American culture alive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mike Trombley, a Wright State electrical engineering graduate, founded NativeAudio out of his love for engineering, music and his heritage.<\/p><\/div>\n

A love of music and a talent for tinkering with electronics inspired Mike Trombley, a Wright State University electrical engineering<\/a> graduate, to start his own business that is more than a business. It has the extra benefit of raising awareness of his Native American culture and keeping his tribe\u2019s language alive.<\/p>\n

Wright State\u2019s Career Services will host Trombley for a workshop on building a professional network<\/a> and connecting with Wright State alumni on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. in 106 Millett Hall.<\/p>\n

He will also participate in an informal meet-and-greet with students at the Asian and Native American Center.<\/p>\n

Trombley\u2019s personal and professional journey started in his native Montana, where he was born and raised on the Blackfeet Reservation. When he was in grade school, he and his family moved off the reservation and went elsewhere in Montana because his mom wanted to pursue a degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

A couple of years later, she met a man who would become his stepfather and who was from the Dayton area. The new family moved to Troy, where in high school Trombley came upon the first of his passions when he started playing guitar.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I was one of those kids who didn\u2019t know what I wanted to do,\u201d Trombley said.<\/p>\n

Trombley soon discovered a second passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a knack for figuring out how things work,\u201d he said. “I didn\u2019t realize until later that that was an occupation. Weirdoes like me become engineers.\u201d<\/p>\n

He enrolled in the Electrical Engineering Program at Wright State in part because,\u201d he said, \u201cit was local and a quick commute” and developed an interest in music electronics.<\/p>\n

Because he played guitar at local venues, including churches (his stepfather is a pastor) Trombley got to know others in the local music community.<\/p>\n

He drew attention not so much for his guitar playing but because of his guitar devices. He custom-built effects pedals, electronic devices that manipulate an instrument\u2019s sound.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw that there was a demand for these,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Around the time he earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in electrical engineering<\/a> in 2015 from Wright State, he approached a music store in Troy that agreed to carry his effects pedals. That\u2019s when he realized he had more to learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to know how to build it,\u201d he said, \u201cbut another to sell it and run a profitable business. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing these past eight years \u2014 learning the whole business thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trombley started a company called Red House Electronics, the name under which he built and sold the effects pedals. What made his devices stand out among others, he said, was that their designs were influenced by his Native American culture.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Trombley earned a master\u2019s degree in electrical engineering<\/a> from Wright State in 2017.<\/p>\n

To strengthen the connection between his culture and his products, in 2018 he rebranded by changing the company name to NativeAudio<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom that point, I didn\u2019t necessarily see myself as an electronics company building stuff for the fun of it,\u201d he said. \u201cI was able to share my culture through sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was really cool because it allows me to do two things,\u201d he said. \u201cOne, I can exercise my music capability and electronic capability to connect with musicians. Second, I\u2019m able to continue the language and the ethos of my culture through my products.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Trombley, Native Audio is the perfect intersection of music, electronics and culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been able to connect with musicians who might not otherwise come across my culture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For instance, the name of one of his products is Kiaayo, which in the Blackfeet language means \u201cbear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool to have someone come into a music shop and ask for it by name,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re using the language of our people and keeping the language alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The connection with preserving his native language goes beyond a mere name. He donates a portion of NativeAudio\u2019s sales each month to the Piegan Institute on the reservation that teaches children the Blackfeet language.<\/p>\n

Trombley builds his effects pedals in his Troy home with the help of Micah Kemplin, one of the musicians he connected with in 2013.<\/p>\n

Trombley said Wright State did well by him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWright State had an endless amount of resources for me to get a proper education while also applying a lot of practicality,\u201d Trombley said. \u201cWright State engages engineers in practical experience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mike Trombley, a Wright State electrical engineering graduate, founded NativeAudio out of his love for engineering, music and his heritage. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":143568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4309,4299,4268,743,2060,725,715,2061],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-association","category-alumni-profile","category-electrical-engineering","category-engineering-computer-science","category-graduate","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-undergraduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143555"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143576,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143555\/revisions\/143576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}