Budding broadcasters: NCC radio camps turn airwaves over to kids

published June 2008 in the Naperville Sun www.napersun.com

Summer often means sleep-away camps or sports camps for junior high and high school students. But those interested in broadbasting now have their own radio camp at North Central College's radio station, WONC-FM 89.1.

Students who sign up for the weeklong workshops partner with the station's disc jockeys and producers to experience the environment of a radio station. They also get to go on air.

"They said they wanted to try whatever they could," said Michelle Corless, a camp counselor and North Central student. "They weren't expecting to go on air."

At least not right away.

"I just thought we would be on air the last day," said Anissa Bridgeforth, an 11-year old camper.

Shy broadcasters

Giving students the opportunity to read live news, sports, traffic or weather reports is a main focus of the camp, said John Madormo, the college's assistant professor of broadcast communication.

"It's rare that we have a student who elects not to go on air," Madormo said.

Some students are shy at first, but counselors introduce them to broadcasting slowly by recording them so they will not worry about freezing under pressure.

Others can stay behind the scenes and learn to use the sound board or work in the production studio.

"By the end of the week, each person ends up developing his own way of doing things," said Dan Goulson, camp counselor and North Central student.

Students are divided into groups of three or four based on gender. Each group of campers gets to answer phones and create their own radio drama.

"We help them to be creatively independent, but we're definitely there to oversee things," Goulson said. "We make sure that they're using time wisely and also having fun at the same time."

Career experience

For some, the camp is more than just a fun summer pastime. It is also an introduction to a career that many who attend the camp end up pursuing, Madormo said.

Jade Loeser, an 11-year-old camper, said she became interested in a radio career after reading the morning announcements at her elementary school. She said the camp has helped her understand the preparation that goes into each radio segment.

"It helps to choose what you're doing before you do it and get everything in line so you're not nervous," Loeser said.

The first two weeks of the camp, from June 9 to 20, are day camps for students entering seventh through ninth grades, while the week of June 23 to 27 is a residential program for students entering their sophomore through senior years of high school.

All who attend tour other local radio studios and hear speeches from North Central alumni who work in the radio industry including Maggie Peterson, assistant program director at WSSR-FM in Joliet.

"It's a really good idea because it shows what it's like to be in radio," Peterson said. "I think if you didn't attend a camp like this, you would have no idea what a radio station is like."

Copyright 2008 Naperville Sun