Q: Your name?
A: Tyler Sprague

Q: At what school do you work?
A: University of South Carolina

Q: What is your role?
A: Writer, photographer and event coordinator for Garnet Media Group’s Marketing Team

Q: How long have you been in student media?
A: I have been in student media for two years.

Q: What are you most excited to work on this year at your student media organization?
A: I am most excited to plan events at Garnet Media Group. I am excited to try new ideas and themes for our housing fairs and publication launch events.

Q: What’s a fun fact about you?
A: Even though I attend the University of South Carolina, I was born and raised in a small mountain town called Weaverville in Northern California.

Q: What’s something in student media you wish you could learn more about?
A: I hope I can learn more about long-term marketing campaigns for student media publications.

Q: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited, and if you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: My favorite place I have ever visited was Morocco. I was able to take a May-mester abroad there, and it was absolutely beautiful. If I could visit anywhere, it would be Italy.

Have a question for Tyler? Reach out at tylersprague03@gmail.com.

Q: Your name?
A: Sam Oldenburg

Q: At what school do you work?
A: Western Kentucky University

Q: What is your role?
A: Talisman and Cherry Creative Adviser

Q: How long have you been in student media?
A: Five years as an adviser and four years as a student

Q: What are you most excited to work on this year at your student media organization?
A: Embracing change with student leaders who weren’t even on staff when the pandemic started and working with them to figure out what our media looks like going forward.

Q: What’s a fun fact about you?
A: While I was in high school I worked as a balloon artist performing under the name Zippy the Clown.

Q: What’s something in student media you wish you could learn more about?
A: Any non-traditional events (outside of housing fairs or best of events) student media groups are holding to generate revenue

Q: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited, and if you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: Whatever national park I last camped in is my favorite place, so right now that’s the Great Smoky Mountains. I would love to travel to France and viside Claude Monet’s gardens.

Have a question for Sam? Reach out at samual.oldenburg@wku.edu.

Q: Your name?
A: Christopher Richert

Q: At what school do you work?
A: Michigan State University

Q: What is your role?
A: General Manager of State News Media Group

Q: How long have you been in student media?
A: 24 years

Q: What are you most excited to work on this year at your student media organization?
A: To work with the students to explore new ways to innovate and grow our audience

Q: What’s a fun fact about you?
A: I was a producer for the Jerry Springer show and was a lead pyrotechnician for the Transformers movies filmed in Chicago.

Q: What’s something in student media you wish you could learn more about?
A: What other media independent groups are doing to continue financial sustainability

Q: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited, and if you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: Costa Rica was my favorite place so far. I would love to go to Egypt.

Q: Your name?
A: Nathan Laursen

Q: At what school do you work?
A: Utah State University

Q: What is your role?
A: Director of Student Media

Q: How long have you been in student media?
A: 4 years as a student, 4 years as a vendor, 9 years as an adviser

Q: What are you most excited to work on this year at your student media organization?
A: Our media organization is growing and watching the individual departments of radio, news and our creative agency work together on projects is rewarding. We are excited to produce at least one multimedia project each month this year and continue fulfilling our mission statement.

Q: What’s a fun fact about you?
A: I’ve been hit by lightning, but did not receive any superpowers that have manifested.

Q: What’s something in student media you wish you could learn more about?
A: Programmatic advertising and Search Engine Optimization techniques are constantly changing, and I wish I had more time to learn about it and implement those techniques.

Q: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited, and if you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: Visited: Hiking the Zion Narrow’s (entire 16-mile overnight from Chamberlain’s Ranch); If travel anywhere: Island hopping in the south pacific (Tuvalu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, etc) or the Moon or Antartica.

Q: Your name?
A: Julie Salter

Q: At what school do you work?
A: University of Alabama

Q: What is your role?
A: Assistant Director of Advertising

Q: How long have you been in student media?
A: 5 years

Q: What are you most excited to work on this year at your student media organization?
A: Student Life event partnerships

Q: What’s a fun fact about you?
A: I am from a small town in Tennessee just next to Jack Daniels.

Q: What’s something in student media you wish you could learn more about?
A: I am eager to always learn more about making our marketing and distribution team stronger.

Q: What’s your favorite place you’ve ever visited, and if you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
A: Florence Italy — the food, the art, the wine, the gelato, the lovely people and the art … I would love another trip back but also a trip to London