By Zachary Gueck Multi-media Reporter
On October 2nd, Amarillo College joined college radio stations across the country and around the world in celebrating College Radio Day. The annual event aims to bring awareness to college radio and the role it plays in giving students hands-on experience in radio broadcasting. This year’s celebration was especially significant for Amarillo College, as FM90 celebrates its 50th anniversary.
FM90’s current program director, Amy Presley, knows the station inside and out. Presley, who teaches radio at Amarillo College, was once a student in the radio program herself. After completing the program, Presley worked in commercial radio before returning to Amarillo College as program director. “The 50th anniversary is really exciting,” Presley said. “I’m really excited to be here as a person who went through the program, saw the results, which ended up with me being in commercial radio for a long time and then getting to be here as the program director, getting to celebrate this huge milestone.”
FM90, also known as KACV-FM, Amarillo College’s commercial-free radio station, first aired on the afternoon of March 15, 1976. The station began as a student-run campus radio experiment. FM90 started broadcasting progressive country during the day and classical music in the evenings, before switching to its current alternative format in 1987, the same format as today.
All of the DJs at FM90 are current or former students of the radio program, and the hands-on experience gained at Amarillo College helps students early on in their college careers. “…that’s the difference with AC too; at a lot of four-year universities you have to wait two years to get behind a mic. Here, it’s within the first two weeks of classes.” For current radio student and music director at Amarillo College Meghan Koenig, that hands-on experience is making a difference. “I now have experience that I can tell employers, hey, I did work for a radio station. I do know what I am talking about and what I am doing,” Koenig said. Former FM90 student Anthony Lopez echoed that sentiment, noting how the program prepares students for life after college. “It really was the segue towards meeting a bunch of great people, but also giving a lot of experience that I can use in the future for the career that I decide to go into,” Lopez said.
For College Radio Day, Amarillo College had past student DJs return to the station for guest spots. Additionally, FM90 took song requests throughout the day and did some giveaways. As FM90 celebrates 50 years on the air, the station continues to give Amarillo College students an opportunity to gain real-world experience in broadcasting. With former students having returned for College Radio Day and current students continuing to learn behind the microphone, FM90’s 50th anniversary celebrates not only the station’s history, but the students who have helped shape it along the way.
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