A favorite birthday memory

My last year of graduate school, I was an intern in the newsroom at WAMC-Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York.

It was roughly 20 hours a week in the afternoons, and I absolutely loved it, so much that when they offered me a chance to do the same job, but paid, for a few months after the internship ended to help cover for some absences, I couldn’t agree fast enough.

I mostly pulled and recorded content for various shows, and also screened calls for the “Vox Pop” afternoon call-in show until a newer intern took that over, but I also got to do several stories.

One of those stories had something to do with New York State government, and although I don’t remember the topic, I do remember that the station wanted to use it for one of their government-related shows the next week. Basically all I had to do was record a new ending with the name of the other show.

My birthday, May 30 (hence why I’m writing this today) was shortly thereafter, and the staff surprised me with a birthday cake out in the front office. Needless to say, the station was playing over the speakers at the station, and as I was munching on cake, all of a sudden, I heard my voice.

My story was on the air.

It was pretty cool for my 24-year-old self.

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