Philadelphia teen spends day broadcasting with WXVU

Lauren McCarthy

This week, WXVU, Villanova’s on-campus radio station, did more than just play the latest music.

On Monday, Feb. 16, WXVU teamed up with North Light Community Center to give one Philadelphia teenager a very special opportunity.

Khyania Bryan, a sophomore in high school, visited the station on Monday morning and explored her interest in a career in broadcasting with some hands on experience.

Bryan spent the morning paired up with Sinead Cloughley, a Villanova senior who serves as the News Director on the WXVU executive board.

Bryan immediately showed great interest towards the inner workings of the station.

“She was very excited to see the station and how it all works,” Cloughley said.

Happy to encourage Bryan’s enthusiasm, Cloughley introduced Bryan to the world of broadcasting with an in-depth tour of the radio station, along with valuable information about how the station runs.

The tour was followed by a radio show which Bryan co-hosted alongside Cloughley. Bryan came prepared for this part of the day.

“She brought her iPod with her and already knew which songs she wanted to play on the air,” Cloughley said.

The time spent broadcasting live gave Bryan the chance to try out a potential career.

Bryan was picked to participate in this activity because of the interest she has shown in broadcasting and radio.

This interest stems from her love of making others laugh. Dubbed a class clown, Bryan has been encouraged by her classmates to pursue a career in television or radio.

Her time at WXVU gave her a chance to see what the future might hold for her, if she does indeed pursue a career in the area of radio.

Bryan left Villanova with a special memento to remember the day. In addition to as much WXVU merchandise as she could carry, Bryan was given a copy of the radio show that she and Cloughley hosted.

During their live broadcast that morning, the show was recorded in the WXVU production room.

From there, it was converted into a mp3 file, which Cloughley immediately e-mailed to Byran.

Byran was also given a CD with their live recording on it.

This permanent recording, along with all the experience that she gained, confirms that WXVU provided Bryan with a day that she will never forget.

This particular act of kindness is not a first for WXVU.

In fact, this is the second year that the radio station has hosted inner-city children who have shown an interest in a radio career.

Marybeth Avioli, the director of UNIT Web Services and Technology, works with the station to find students who show such an interest.

Avioli similarly sets up children with athletic interests with various athletic organizations on campus. By actively working with Avioli, WXVU continuously strives to find similar opportunities to help out as many young students as possible. Last year, they successfully hosted four others with the same interests as Bryan.

Current Music Director and future general manager for the ’09-’10 school year, Andrew Moriarty, finds a great need for this program. Moriarty sees the benefits that hosting young students has upon the kids.

“They don’t have the same privileges that we have here at Villanova, so it’s great to give them this exposure and experience,” Moriarty said. “It’s a great way to give them a concrete vision that they can aspire towards.”

Moriarty hopes to continue doing more events such as this, because of the great and positive impact that it has on all involved.

By giving just one student an opportunity that she typically would not have had, WXVU showed how big of a difference just one simple day can make toward someone’s future.