College radio changed my life. I mean this very literally and figuratively. For many, partaking in a college radio network is seen as a pastime, something to do that's fun and doesn't require much commitment besides showing up for meetings and planning playlists of what you're going to put on the air that week. However, for those of us who work and reside within a smaller college radio network, we tend to keep our station a bit closer to heart than other universities. We may not have reserved nights to broadcast live football games or sponsor big teams, but our staff and DJs are some of the most passionate people about their respective crafts, and in general are some of the most passionate people I have ever met. So having to say goodbye to many of them this year was very hard.

I joined up with our university radio station, Lander XLR, as a baby-faced freshman, fresh out the high school class of 2011. I was drafted by a friend to come along to a radio interest meeting, as he was wanting to start a radio show and I was new to the whole college thing and thought that it would be a good way to make friends. I was mostly right. I was not the only freshman coming in, nor would I be the last. The graduating class of that year consisted of people who I now realize I would reflect in my later years on college radio. Those who had done multiple all-nighters in order to get projects done, or simply because procrastination got the best of them. Those who had established themselves within the program, figured out their friends and non-friends, and still dedicated significant portions of their lives to their shows and the network.

I made a few friends within my first few years of beginning the show. It originally started out as a Ska show called 3-dom Fridays, playing an obscure little genre of rock that brought in horns and such to counter the drums and guitars, and with bands Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Reel Big Fish leading the push and airwaves, and as the name stated, went on air Fridays at 3pm. For the most part, it went well. I co-hosted, playing off the topics that we threw at each other and otherwise giving commentary to the quality of the music that we put onto the airwaves. This was the format for my freshman and sophomore year. Then things changed.

At the start of my junior year, I was informed that my friend who had started the show would not be returning due to life circumstances but still wanted me to continue the program on my own. This rocked me a bit. I had only hosted when nerves got the best of my host, and that was a rare occurrence. Starting over with a blank slate, I was a bit terrified, but excited all at the same time. I would change the format a bit, make it more of a rock show rather than a subgenre, but I was certain that I wouldn't do it alone. I HATED doing it by myself, and worked much better when I had multiple people to bounce topics off of. So I recruited 3 of my best boys from my core friend group, and got the same timeslot that the original show ran under. We all decided that the name would definitely need to be changed, if only to separate it from the previous incarnation. Thus began the birth of Freedom Fridays.

The show went off without a hitch, and lasted through several cast changes. We originally started out with four, playing a great variety from all over the musical genres. We lost one co-host to financial difficulties, then another to graduation and his entrance into the adult world. Finally, this year was the last year for my version of the show, since I was finally graduating after an extended stay in college life. After so many years of doing this show for 5 1/2 years, it was time to say goodbye.

Our last broadcast was December 2nd, 2016. DJs from the new generation of students came in and helped close it out, as well as two of my cohosts from the past three years. The show went better than I could have asked for, with a full table of hosts and a lot of memories shared. I did not cry on air, but there MAY have been increasing amounts of moisture in my eye areas. Finally, after our block was up, I got to say my final sign off and sign the wall of graduates that dominates the interior of the radio station. It was a very emotional event, as I have wanted to graduate for a while, but not wanted to say goodbye to what I considered a very balancing part of my weekly schedule. Indeed, it was a sign that my life was about to change in a huge way.

The show isn't fully dead. My cohost, who will remain at Lander until next fall, has taken it upon himself to start it's spiritual successor, as I did with 3-dom Fridays. I know that it is in very capable hands, and look forward to seeing what he does with it (tune in for From The Ashes on Lander XLR, Spring 2017). However, my chapter has finished.

If you ever have the chance to take part in your college radio network, do give it a chance. It may be the best thing you ever do in your college life.