Student Radio: Broadcasting my KRLX Experience
Aidan details his experience from college radio newbie to board member.
Aidan details his experience from college radio newbie to board member.
This past year I got involved with our college radio station, KRLX. I joined as a fluke, but it became one of my favorite activities this year. Sharing my music taste with others and chatting with my listeners (like my mom, shout out) is one of the highlights of my week. In my opinion, it is one of the best and coolest student organizations. I am excited to share my experience with you all!
Getting Involved
As I said, I joined KRLX as a fluke. I never knew of KRLX until my sophomore fall. One of my housemates asked if I wanted to do a radio show with them. Clearly, I said yes! I didn’t really know what that meant, but I decided to join anyways. As a new member, I was slotted into the lovely 2:00-3:00 AM on Sunday morning slot. Although this slot is atrocious, I enjoyed all my late-night time in the studio. It felt a lot easier when friends came and visited! One of my fondest memories of doing KRLX is my daylight savings time show. My friend Henry and I got an extra hour of broadcast because of the clock turning back. Our listeners, however, may not have appreciated our antics.
Studio Renovations
The studio underwent some intense renovations during winter break. When I came back it looked completely different. I was honestly not the biggest fan of the renovations when I came back. I really liked the old studio in all its cramped but charming glory. The school, however, kept a lot of the historic elements of the studio. I appreciated this decision because the history of the station can live on! I’ve quickly grown to love the extra space the new studio has. Ultimately, I like the studio renovations, but I often miss the old studio.
Doing Shows
After my first term, I decided I wanted to do another solo show and some shows with my friends. These radio shows were a bit more inventive. I prepared curated playlists, brought on guests, and figured out how the phone system worked (it’s hard to get to work, I swear!). My shows included chatting with my mom and playing only physical copies of music! I like to think my shows were pretty good. Whether the listeners thought the same? That is yet to be seen.
Joining the Board
I truly feel as though I found my community within KRLX. Thus when Board elections came around, I decided to run! I was unsure whether I would get the position due to the applicant pool. So, I was thrilled to be selected. My position ended up being programming director. This meant I would be in charge of scheduling the shows (apologies to everyone I gave a 3:00-5:00 AM slot to). Beyond that, I was able to make some of the more administrative decisions for the station. Having this prominent voice in the future of KRLX was super fun. Although I will not be on the board in the fall due to my off-campus study program, I’m extremely excited to return in the winter. Maybe I’ll see some of you around the studio.
Aidan (he/him) is a rising Junior from Batavia, IL. He is a Religion and French and Francophone Studies double major with a Cross-Cultural Studies minor. You can often find him at the campus’s two dining halls chatting with other students while working as a student dining hall manager. He enjoys spending his time outside of class cooking and hanging out with his housemates in the Culinary Interest House and performing in Carleton’s sketch comedy group. Aidan also loves to broadcast music to the greater Northfield community on the college radio station, KRLX 88.1 FM. Meet the other bloggers!