This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Hamilton chapter.
Name: Ben Fields ’15
Position: WHCL General Manager
When and why did you first get involved in radio? I started by having a radio show the spring of my freshman year with my roommate Zack. We had a country music show at 7am on Tuesday mornings, it was great… But then at the end of the semester I decided to apply to the e-board since I was really enjoying doing my show and wanted to get more involved. The rest is history I guess. I was Sports Director for my sophomore year and then I started to move up. This past fall I took on two positions, serving as Assistant General Manager and Programming Director. Throughout that time though, Nate (our past GM) was training me to take over for him. And now, I’m GM woohoo.
What do you most enjoy about having a radio show? I really just love the opportunity to play music and hang out with a good friend for an hour. I’ve done shows with a variety of people but I can definitely this past year with Claire, our Staff Director, has been the best. We have a great banter and reasonably compatible music tastes. Sadly, she’s graduating so hopefully next year I’ll still have fun.
What’s your favorite type of music to play on your radio show? Honestly, I gotta say Disney. This is probably not a surprise to anyone who knows me, but I always try to make sure I play at least 1 Disney song every show.
What are your responsibilities as GM? Basically I keep the radio running. I’m the first line of defense if anything goes wrong, so that could mean a 2am text from the studio saying things are broken, or our Studio Engineer emailing me asking for help. I also try to think big picture. So I just got back from a big intercollegiate radio conference and I’ve got some big ideas for the station. Look out for changes after spring break.
What are some of WHCL’s upcoming events? Well we’ve got a DJ mixer coming up right after spring break, and then we’ll have to see where I go from there. You never know what’s happening behind that GM Office door in Sadove.