12/02/2025
I've been thinking about college radio lately and how it helped shape my career. Partly, since the loss of 93.3 WMMR Philadelphia's beloved DJ and stellar citizen Pierre Robert last month.
And partly because of rumors that my alma mater Mount Saint Mary's University was poised to shut down 89.9 WMTB-FM, its student-run radio station where I learned to spin vinyl in the early 1980's.
For college, I knew I wanted to write, but my choice of MSM was not about its curriculum so much as its charming, small mountainside campus. I probably should've picked Temple University for journalism. But I didn't even give it a look.
I chose to major in English, with a brand-new communications minor. And I found abundant opportunities to learn and grow. I did work-study with the Sports Information Department, jumped right into DJing with WMTB, and pursued writing gigs with The Mountain Echo newspaper, later serving as Managing Editor. We DJs were having fun making musical discoveries months before commercial radio (hello U2!), and didn't think twice about it, but neither the radio station nor newspaper offered course credits.
But here are the marketable skills these extracurriculars did offer: public speaking, time management, creating promos, creative problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, time management. Do mixtape skills count? I would say yes.
Making beautiful segways and crossfading one song into the next still brings joy.
My liberal arts education has served me well. After working as a journalist for 7 years, I shifted to marketing communications for Vanguard for 22 years, and am 5 years deep in my business, CJH Communications—writing, editing, and storytelling.
My fellow DJs at the time have followed career similar trajectories. And so we were delighted to hear this week that college administrators decided to keep WMTB going. Whether it was because of student and alumni outcry, or something else, this is a win for the campus and the students. You never know where these skills could take you.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/humanities-college-arts-computer-science-jobs-education-20251130.html
The humanities prepare students not just to get a job, but to keep it and excel while doing so.