I still remember walking into my first Wire all-staff meeting. Intimated, unknowing and alone, I sat in my chair observing the journalists around me. Being a business major, I already felt out of place in a sea of people chatting about columns and copy errors.
There was so much I did not understand and so much I didn’t feel like learning. Even in my Marquette Radio team, I felt like the odd one out.
For three years, our MUR team grew a little closer and I encouraged friends to join the desk along the way. However, something was still missing.
From being the assistant music director to the music director to eventually the assistant general manager, I experienced almost every part of MUR that I could in my first three years. By my junior year, I finally mustered up the courage to apply for the general manager position on MUR — a goal I had set ever since I became involved with radio in my first year of high school.
Applying to GM was a chance to promote change and to build the culture and family I always wished I had at the Wire.
I wanted to ensure that in team meetings everyone got the chance to speak up and share their thoughts. I wanted to ensure that in all-staff meetings my team members felt like they could branch out and connect with other people on the Wire. I wanted to ensure that on-air hosts felt a sense of community and knew the face of the person sending them a million emails.
In March of last year, I was ecstatic to receive an email that I was selected as the next general manager of MUR for my senior year. It finally felt like all my hard work was paying off.
Flash forward to now, I am so proud of the community and culture we have built at MUR. We have connected with members of the Milwaukee music scene and started to build long-lasting relationships with artists. Collaborations with other branches of the Wire have taken us to new heights. People around campus now know what MUR is and how they can get involved.
Thank you so much to my team for making this year so meaningful and always supporting each other no matter what. The family we have created is one I will never forget.
To Emily Sacco and Clare Lindstrom — You guys have stuck with me through it all. I am so grateful for you both and I will miss all the memories from the past few years.
To Hope, Nancy and Megan — Thank you for making the Wire feel like a home to me and always continuing to challenge me. Your leadership and humility have inspired me to be the leader I am today.
To Sam — You have taken a passion for radio to a new level and inspired so many people to get involved and continue this legacy. Words cannot express how proud I am of you and how excited I am to see all that you accomplish next year.
Overall, my biggest takeaway was that the family and the culture that I so desperately wanted to create at MUR and the Wire were here the entire time. Sometimes you just need to put yourself out there to find it.
This article was written by Emily Bittman. They can be reached at [email protected].