Michael Grund / Index

Music, people & useful systems.

michael@mmgrund.comPullman, Washington

Finance + MIS / Washington State University

Music, people & useful systems.

Michael Grund

Hi, I’m Michael.
Student, builder, music producer.

I work in library systems support, run an independent music business, and develop AI-assisted tools that connect information to everyday work.

Start the story
An original abstract composition of layered copper ribbons and smoked glass, evoking sound and structure.
An exploration of rhythm,
material, and connection.Original AI-generated artwork for this site.
Based in Pullman, WashingtonExpected graduation / Spring 2027 Open to internships & early-career roles

The connecting thread

Michael Grund

Michael Grund
Student. Founder. Builder.

Creative work taught me to make things. Running a business taught me to make them work.

I’m a Finance and MIS student at Washington State University. Outside class, I work in library systems support, operate Michelangelo Music, and help lead the Digital Audio Collective.

Those experiences keep bringing me back to the same questions: what do people need, what gets in the way, and how can a better system help? Applied AI is becoming another way to work on those problems.

01 The foundation ↗02 The work ↗03 The business ↗04 The community ↗

01 / Washington State University

Business questions. Systems perspective.

Two majors. A connected way
of looking at how things work.

Major
Finance
Major
Management Information Systems
Expected graduationSpring 2027

Finance gives me a framework for understanding value and business decisions. MIS connects that perspective to information, processes, and technology.

Inside the classroom

Decisions meet
implementation.

Through Finance and MIS, I’m learning to connect an organization’s goals with the information and systems it needs.

Finance in practice Research, evidence, and decisions with real stakes.

Finance in practice / Fall 2026

Cougar
Investment Fund.

FIN 437 · Student participant
A shared responsibility≈ $6.7M

WSU endowment funds
managed through the student program

Approximate fund value published by WSU ↗

I’m contributing to the student team helping manage the Cougar Investment Fund, connecting finance coursework with investment research and decisions about real university funds.

Through FIN 437, I use Bloomberg terminals to research financial information and examine charts. The program brings research into a shared decision process: written recommendations, presentations, and a class vote before approved trades go to WSU’s investment manager.

How the fund works
01 Research02 Recommend03 Discuss & vote04 University execution
Carson College of BusinessStudent perspective / Practical applicationGo Cougs ↗

02 / WSU Libraries

Technology is personal when someone relies on it.

Institutional IT has given me a different kind of responsibility: supporting the tools people use to study, create, and work.

People → tools → continuitySystem study / 02
Keep the work
moving.

Hardware. Software.
Information. People.

Current / Part-time

Library Systems
Support Specialist

With Systems and Technical Operations at Holland and Terrell Libraries, I support help-desk requests, troubleshoot hardware and software, and configure, deploy, and maintain Windows workstations.

Working with experienced colleagues is teaching me to trace a problem, communicate clearly with the person affected, and work within an institution’s systems and constraints.

IT supportTroubleshootingWindows environments
Earlier position

Library Systems &
Accessibility Assistant

I organized vendor accessibility information and resource inventories, worked with VPAT documentation, and supported evaluation of digital resources. That work connected technical details with accessibility, documentation, and organizational decisions.

Accessibility informationDocumentation

03 / Independent business · Since December 2023

I made the music. Then built the business.

Michelangelo Music is where creative work became products, customers, and day-to-day operational responsibility.

Founder / Music producer

Michelangelo
Music.

An independent business
built around original production.

I produce and release music, sell beats and sound kits, and manage the work around them: distribution, digital marketing, customer communication, content operations, and analytics.

Doing that work repeatedly exposed the parts that needed better tools. Catalog management, publishing, and business information became practical problems to organize and automate.

700+
Explore Michelangelo Music ↗YouTube ↗Beat store ↗
01 / Create

Original music
& digital products

02 / Bring to market

Distribution, content
& digital marketing

03 / Understand

Audience analytics
& customer relationships

04 / Improve

Operations tools
& automation

04 / Digital Audio Collective

Build the space. Let people make it their own.

Music technology is more interesting when people can learn, experiment, and create together.

Michael Grund presenting FL Studio to participants at a Digital Audio Collective workshop.
Presenting at a Digital Audio Collective workshop.FL Studio
Digital Audio Collective logo

Vice President / Former President

Digital Audio
Collective.

I help lead DAC’s meetings and operations, coordinate events and outreach, and work with officers, advisors, performers, and campus partners. My contributions span agendas, presentations, marketing, and technical/audio logistics.

My current focus is shared ownership: helping members contribute, training others, and building a community that can keep moving after I graduate.

Vice President Aug 2026 – presentPresident Aug 2025 – Aug 2026
A team effort, with a tangible result$14,924

WSU Student Technology Fee funding
for a Live Sound and DJ System.

More tools.
More possibilities.

I contributed to the student team behind the successful equipment proposal. WSU named me among the applicants; the award supports the collective’s music and performance resources.

WSU’s project acknowledgment ↗Approved allocation ↗
Explore DAC ↗Events & performances ↗The Synth Lab ↗

05 / Continuing to learn

A growing toolkit. A practical purpose.

I’m interested in where AI fits into real work: connecting information, improving an interface, or making a recurring process easier to operate.

Study ↔ Build ↔ EvaluateLearning and implementation inform each other.
In progressIBM / Coursera

Generative AI
Engineering

Currently working through IBM’s Generative AI Engineering Professional Certificate. Completed coursework includes Python, AI applications with Flask, generative AI applications, data analysis, and machine learning.

Generative AI applications credential ↗Explore the program ↗

Coursework supports the projects. The full IBM professional certificate is still in progress.

06 / Independent systems & AI

The problem comes first. The system follows.

These developing projects come from needs I’ve encountered myself: finding useful context and managing the work around publishing.

01 Personal knowledge02 Publishing workflow
01 / Personal Knowledge Management SystemIllustrated flow

Capture / Sample project note

“Review the final layout before publishing.”

A useful detail, saved with its original record.

Organize / Source retained

Project note → searchable context

Index the content without losing where it came from.

Retrieve / A different way to ask

“What needs to happen before launch?”

Look for related meaning, not only matching words.

Inspect / Answer with a source

Review the final layout. Source: Sample project note

Return to the record and check the context.
Scroll to follow the thread

Illustrated flow with synthetic content. Not a live system demo.

Personal Knowledge Management System

A way back to
what you know.

Scattered records become useful when you can find the relevant context again.

I developed a personal knowledge system that organizes records into searchable, source-linked context for AI assistants. It is designed to maintain continuity across tasks and tools.

The approach
Capture a record, structure its context, retrieve related meaning, and keep a path back to the source.
My contribution
Defining retrieval needs, structuring information, choosing integrations, and directing AI-assisted implementation.
How I’m thinking about it

Retrieval should return useful context without losing its origin. The source reference makes the result inspectable. This is a personal-use project; the illustration uses synthetic content and does not measure retrieval quality.

Independent project · Developed with AI assistance

Publishing workflow / Business operations

Built around
the work itself.

Running a music business revealed how much work happens around the music.

I began building automation around recurring publishing and operations tasks, then developed more integrated, AI-assisted workflows for packaging, review, and remote operation.

01

Independent automationOrganize recurring production and publishing tasks.

02

AI-assisted workflowsConnect catalog information, packaging, output review, and operations.

03

Developing toward SoundGradeExplore a more integrated approach to AI-powered music publishing operations.

What operating it taught me

Using real outputs exposed slow loading and confusing thumbnail crops. The interface needed to show the actual result and make the next action clear. The value is practical: more organized work and clearer review. Measured time savings, reliability, and autonomous operation have not yet been established.

Developing independent workflow · AI-assisted implementation

02 / Publishing workflowFrame study
An original geometric rhythm composition shown in the selected crop.
The wide frame keeps more of the original composition.
Scroll from source to review

Interactive crop study created for this site. Not a project screenshot.

07 / Keep the conversation going

Open to internships and early-career roles
in systems, automation, and practical technology.

Let’s make something work.

Email me directly
Connect on LinkedIn

Based in Pullman, Washington
Seattle–Tacoma after graduation