Senior Marcus Galamay is making a splash before his graduation this June! Marcus came down from the Bay area only to discover his love of Communications and his ability to successfully multitask and work hard on the Golden Eagle Radio team. As Vice President and Program Director of Golden Eagle Radio, Marcus is a key player in the upcoming launch of the station on April 7th. Read on to find out what Marcus does to make the station come to life, what he likes the best about Los Angeles, and where he sees himself in the future!Â
What made you decide to move from Northern California to Los Angeles?I’ve always been interested in music and the music business so I knew that Los Angeles would be a good place for me. I could be away from the family but not too far from them.
What made you choose your major?I was always the kind of kid that liked to talk and loved speeches and I would always get in trouble for talking too much in class. As time went on, I decided that Communications would be the best route based on the type of classes that I would have to take. It was all the classes that I enjoyed and had aspects that I liked, like public speaking and writing. Plus it’s so broad! I can apply it to many things, including my area of interest, music.
What are you involved with on campus?I’m the Vice President of Golden Eagle Radio (GER). I’m also GER’s Program Director and a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the Communications Department Honor Society.
How did you become involved with GER?At the same time that I wanted to get involved with it, I met Sophia at a convention that a professor chose us to go to. I found out that Sophia was involved and I got involved with social media first. When the time came, I then moved into the Vice President position. Â
What are some of your duties as Vice President and how do they differ your duties as Program Director?So Vice President would be more of the club related stuff like helping with the club events and making sure all of the backend stuff is taken care of. I’m also there to help Sophia if she needs me, or wherever I’m needed in general.
As Program Director, I work more with hosts and make sure they go to their recordings. Program Director is in charge of creating the schedule for 15 shows with the hosts and engineers, which can be very cumbersome. There are so many things with the job! I figure out where the shows that are being recorded are going to be placed, genres, the time logistics, the sound of the radio and even more.
Do you have a show on GER? If so, what is it about?Yes! The show is called “the 101.” It is symbolic because it’s the freeway from the Bay area to L.A. but it’s also supposed to be like a basic class, like entry level English or “Math 101.” The tagline of the show is “lessons on music, life, love or all of the above.”
I talk about issues that students might be dealing with for the first time, like moving in with a significant or roommate or parents. I give tips on regular life situations that I’ve personally experienced, like the stuff that you don’t learn in class. For the music portion of the show, I talk about different music people might not know about. Like I would give lessons on female MCs that don’t get played and expose people to more.
What’s your favorite part about living in LA? What is the most difficult?Favorite: The energy! Depends on where you get that. The people here are trying to make themselves into something and that energy I like. Somebody wants to be an actor or a journalist or whatever; so many of those people are driven and it’s good to surround yourself with people like that. And the weather is great, as cliché as that is.
Difficult: Some of the people that act like they’ve arrived when they haven’t yet and have a lack of humbleness. It can be hard to explain but some people I’ve encountered just act and feel entitled.
Where do you see yourself in five years?As an executive working at a radio station or a record label of some sort!
Any cool facts about yourself?I used to sing tenor in gospel choir!Â