Montgomery County Community College’s (MCCC) student-run, Internet radio station, Montco Radio, will host its first-ever Alumni Broadcast on Saturday, April 16. Starting at 8 a.m. and continuing through 6 p.m., radio station alumni from the 1980s through today will host and broadcast live shows from Montco Radio’s studio in the Advanced Technology Center at MCCC’s Central Campus in Blue Bell.
The community is invited to listen to the live broadcasts by visiting montcoradio.com or by clicking on the microphone icon on the lower left corner of MCCC’s homepage, mc3.edu.
Montco Radio, once named WRFM (Radio Free Montco), began as a record-spinning club in the early 1970s. Over the years, the club evolved and began to operate like a radio station, with music and content being broadcast into MCCC’s cafeteria in College Hall. Then, in 2003, Montco Radio gained an international audience when it began broadcasting over the Internet.
“As a student club, the radio station has a long history of bringing together students from all backgrounds and majors to share their passions with the broader MCCC community,” shared Senior Communications Lecturer Jeff Asch, who has served as faculty co-advisor to the radio station since 2000. “We’re excited to re-connect with the station’s alumni and to have them share their experiences with today’s students.”
The station’s alumni are equally excited to be back on campus.
“My time at WRFM was amazing, and I want to do my part in helping create something for today’s and tomorrow’s students,” shared former WRFM station manager, Rob Templeton, who will kick off the alumni broadcast from 8-9 a.m. “When we got it right, we were learning and having fun, and you can’t get more of a winning combination then that. I came away with strong life lessons that I carry with me even today.”
Former Montco Radio officer Jen Mitlas, who was a 2015 Sundance Institute / Knight Foundation Fellow, will co-host the 10 a.m. hour on April 16.
“I am honored that I can go back to the roots that started my passion and career in the world of sound,” said Mitlas. “Mc3 holds an extremely special place in my heart and I owe a lot of my motivations and accomplishments to the school!”
Former station manager Kerri Hughes, who will co-host the 10 a.m. hour with Mitlas, agrees.
“I am super excited that, after all these years, I can come back and do a show,” she said. “Every time I visit Montco, it feels like I have never even been away. I’m so excited to see how Montco Radio has progressed!”
For many of the returning alumni, the April 16 broadcast will be the first time they will see the station’s new home-a state-of-the-art broadcast studio in MCCC’s Advanced Technology Center that rivals those found in the industry.
“The station has come a long way since its early days of playing to the cafeteria, but none of this would be possible without the commitment of our station managers, board offers and DJs through the years,” said Asch. “Their work and enthusiasm as students laid the foundation for Montco Radio’s global presence today.”
To learn more, visit <montcoradio.com> or follow Montco Radio on Facebook: facebook.com/montcoradio, on Instagram: @montcoradio, and on Twitter: @montco_radio.
