College Radio Day. You probably heard some of your classmates talking about it but what exactly is COLLEGE RADIO DAY? Founded in December of 2010, College Radio Day was made with the goal of celebrating the importance and raising greater international awareness of the numerous college and high school radio stations operating throughout the world.
Our very own executive director of Neumann Media, Sean McDonald, was actually a part of the board for College Radio Day for its inception.
“People love radio still,” he says. “It is a big uniter of students from all disciplines across campus … college radio is a community builder, and I think it’s a really important grounding space for students to learn about themselves, gain confidence to build on their communication skills and put their creativity to work in a way they may not thought was possible before”
Regarding the selection of programming, McDonald is adamant that “Every year we have an interest meeting about planning it and every year the students step up and they plan it. I would not change it.”
While it might be senior Joe “Bean” Clark’s seemingly last College Radio Day as a student, his favorite memory from the annual event is “staying up all night with my friends and going over the radio telling interesting stories or debating pop culture topics that we all find entertaining … I am going to miss college radio because I won’t be around to see my friends and play kickball past midnight.”
Going into College Radio Day, I had no experience with radio and what I was personally getting myself into. Truly a big step in helping me ease into this was the leadership and stewardship that McDonald brings. He has so much faith and passion in what we as a team can accomplish in the communications area here at Neumann, where he has worked tirelessly for years.
The camaraderie of this team was also very welcoming. Kicking off the night was a short little segment with the Seniors who have been a driving force on the Campus’s radio station, 98.5 WNUW.
Next up was the kickball game with team captains Andrew “Drew” Marshall and Anthony “Tony” Lonetti, ending in a close game with Lonetti’s team winning 10 to 8.
Between broadcasts we all had our moments of speaking with one another. Being a transfer student, I personally loved getting to know this group a lot more than I already did. While many went home and back to their dorms to fall asleep, I’ll never forget staying up the entire time for the first half of College Radio Day with Clark, Catherine “Cat” Fochi, Maggie Ensell, and Teni Jehanian.
With this team we had our own little broadcasts, one at 6:00 a.m. and one at 8:00 a.m. We talked about everything from our trips to Halloween candies and costumes. I had a ton of fun with both, of course. Just talking back and forth with my new friends is an experience I’ll hold dear in my heart forever. All in all, I had an amazing time for my first College Radio Day, and I cannot wait for next year!
