We all know Bloomsburg is obsessed with country music! But you probably didn’t know that Philadelphia’s country music station 92.5 XTU’s morning talk show host, Andie Summers is an alumna! Her show, the “Doc and Andie Show,” just won the CMA Broadcast Award for “Major Market Personality of the Year!” Talk about a big deal! HC Bloomsburg was lucky enough to talk with Andie about her career and life as a radio host.
Her Campus: Are you willing to share when you graduated?
Andie Summers: Haha, of course! I graduated in1996.
HC: Where did you live on campus?
AS: I live in Schuylkill my freshman and sophomore years.
HC: What was your major and did you have a favorite class?
AS: I was a Mass Communications Major. Dr. Ganahl was my favorite professor so anything he taught!
HC: Did you always want to get into radio?
AS: No, I originally wanted to get into TV broadcasting. But there was a radio station off-campus and they were looking for help and my friend worked there so I took a part-time job to make some money and get my foot in the door in the broadcasting field and I just fell in love with it so I never left!
HC: What was your first entry-level job in your field and how did you get it?
AS: Well, the interesting thing about the media is you just want to get your foot in the door and things just go from there. So, I started working at this little radio station – it was only a 6000 watt station – and it was owned by two former radio guys so they were just having fun with it. It was very low-pressure job and the staff was very small. When I started, I did an internship there so I was eventually able to grow my responsibilities so by the time I graduated, I pretty much had it all down pat. When they offered me a job, because it was such a small station, we all had to pretty much do everything. I remember being a morning show host but I was also a Promotions Director and I also did production. I was in my 20s and I was living in Bloomsburg and everyone I was working with was a friend so we made it fun! And when it was time to grow from that job, I was so much more marketable because I knew how to do everything already. I could have applied for any job at a radio station and gotten the job.
HC: How did you establish yourself in the communications field as a recent graduate?
AS: Once we got to a major market and everyone was making six figures, the economy tanked. And half my coworkers were let go and those who were left had to pick up everybody else’s jobs and if you didn’t know how to do anything except what you were originally hired for, you were one of the people that was gone. It was such a blessing that I had all those skills under my belt already. So, when all I saw all those other people losing their jobs, I was able to go into my boss’ office and say Hey, I can used to do this as Promotions Director… and that gave them another reason to keep me.
Did you have any mentors that helped you along the way?
AS: I didn’t really know anybody in radio. But about six months after I graduated, I was at a radio station in the Wilkes Barre/Scranton market – Froggy 101 – and about three years into that position, I had just had it. The general manager at the time actually told me trained monkeys could do my job… it was horrendous. My parents couldn’t help me and I didn’t know anyone and everyone was just looking out for their own jobs, so, at the point I reached out to Dr. Ganalh. He was public relations guy so he couldn’t even help me on the radio side but he was so encouraging and he wouldn’t let me quit! He said “Let’s get you to a place where you’re going to love radio again,” which was terrific. He definitely stepped in at the right time.
What does a typical day at the office look like for you?
AS: I get up in the morning at 3:30 and I get myself together. I live about 30 miles from the radio station so I do show stuff in the morning before I get to work so when I get there, my coworkers have all my prep and notes. We go on the air at 5:30 and we’re on the air until 10. After that we do a lot of celebrity interviews – I talk to a lot of country artists or if there are actors that want to promote the shows they’re on, we’ll do interviews with them. We do a lot of charity work as well. So maybe we’ll talk to people in the military or involved in the USO, so we’re either going out the do charity things or we talk to people about the things they’re doing so we can promote it that way. Then we’ll have a meeting with our program director, just to make sure we’re all on the same page moving in the right direction. We usually leave between 11 and 12. But it’s funny because radio is definitely a 24 hour job so even though I might leave at noon, I’m always thinking about how can things that happen in my life can translate to radio. At night, everybody on the morning show sits down at their computers and we go through websites and come up with new topics to go through in the morning.
What do you think are the biggest challenges that face college graduates today?
AS: So many graduates seem to think this is my dream job and that’s what I’m going to get and somehow there is this mindset shift. Instead of gradually working up to that dream job, graduates think they deserve that dream job and they really don’t. Especially working in the media, it’s grueling because the hours are tough but if you enjoy it as much as I have over the years, you end up getting to be where I am but you don’t just come out of the school and get to do that. So much of it too is life experience. On the radio, we’re not reporters. We’re sharing our lives and if your lives are short because you’re only in your 20s, that’s just not interesting to people. You have to be well-rounded and be able to relate to all different walks of life and demographics, and that just comes with time and hard work and life experience. Graduates just really have to embrace starting at the bottom and learning as much as you can as you work your way up the ladder.
What was the most important lesson (academic or non) you took from Bloomsburg?
AS: Making sure that you utilize all your resources. I’m not a person that asks for help but in that moment of weakness when I was at Froggy 101, I called Dr.Ganalh and if I didn’t, I probably would be working at a retail store. How much more fulfilling is my life right now because I stuck with it? I would say definitely use your resources, ask for help! Just because professors aren’t working the field you want to get into doesn’t mean they don’t have valuable advice to give you.
HC: What is the best aspect about your job?
AS: I’ve got the most awesome job in the world because I get to talk for four hours in the morning with my very best friends. There is a lot of editing involved, it’s not like I’m just kicked back with a cup of coffee – there is work that goes into it but it definitely is fun! But I would say the best aspect of my job is our listeners. Getting to go to appearances, whether it’s just be doing a broadcast from a car dealership or getting to go to someone’s charity event or getting to go to concerts and meeting the people that listen every day, that is my favorite thing. I have learned so much about what is it to be a better person because of the people I get to meet through XTU. And I don’t mean the celebrities, I mean the listeners – they teach me how to be a better person.
HC: Is there anything you wish you knew before you really plunged into the work force?
AS: That list is way too long, haha! I was not the greatest student at Bloomsburg but I will say, looking back, what could have helped me was learning more about the workplace. It sounds simple but things like respecting your superiors and having workplace etiquette. It’s an overlooked aspect of the college experience and I don’t think it would be such a bad thing to teach.
HC: What words of wisdom do you find most valuable?
AS: When you’re in your twenties, you’re really all about yourself. It’s like I want to do this for me. It definitely comes with age but if you can adopt the mantra of “every day, do something good,” your life will be so much more fulfilled. Whether through your job or your personal life, do good for other people. It’s all about karma. That’s the one part of you that you can look back and feel good about. You will be respected more and climb that ladder faster. I look at my 30s as the time I really came to realize, I was such an idiot 10 years ago! You’re going to make mistakes but at least while you’re doing it, you can do good for someone else.
HC: If you had to choose another career, what would you choose?
AS: That’s so hard because I never wanted radio but once I got in it, I never wanted to leave. If I could have chosen another field when I was younger, it would have been entertainment television. If I had to pick another field now, it would probably be working for the USO. But the cool thing about what I do now if I get to work with the USO and the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I’m so blessed to be able to do so much!
You can listen to Andie on the “Doc and Andie Show” every morning from 5:30 am to 10 am on 92.5 XTU and check out the show’s website here!
Visit Doc and Andie’s Facebook page and Twitter page for more from Andie!