The Weekend Wolff Returns
“You have to join at least one club or activity.” I can never thank my mother enough for telling me this as I prepared myself for my four years at Gannon University. As an introvert, I remember grumbling as I begrudgingly looked at the GU activities list online. While I don’t dabble in a cappella in my spare time, I constantly tell people that Pitch Perfect had a profound influence on my college experience. Not long before I looked at the list, I watched the 2012 hit for the first time. 90.5 WERG stood out immediately on the activities list, because Becca and Jesse spent their free time at their campus station. You better acca-believe that I was dead set on being a DJ.
Not long after I moved into my freshman dorm, I sought out the program director for that year to arrange a meeting to start my unorthodox hobby for the next four years. Why is it unorthodox? I am currently a licensed Medical Laboratory Scientist.
As someone who tests blood and other body fluids in the basement of a hospital on a daily basis, it might seem like a stretch to claim that my time at 90.5 WERG has impacted my career; however, my time at WERG in my roles as jock and news director have shaped me on a personal level. I won’t lie, I was rather effective at communicating and speaking in public before I joined the staff at the station, but this was only when I had to—i.e. speeches, plays, interviews, etc. If it was scripted or rehearsed, I was fine. As an introvert, I found that being at WERG gave me more confidence as a person.
When I started my first shift at WERG, I was part of a duo during the Friday PM drive, which was a comfort—there would always be someone to help buffer any dead-air if my shyness overtook me. Unfortunately, my partner had to quit the show after a few weeks due to her work schedule. So as someone who still to this day tells her dates, “I’m a very shy and boring person,” talking to the tri-state area alone throughout a two-hour show seemed intimidating.
My first solo show finally arrived and I was frightened beyond belief. I didn’t think I would be able to come up with enough talking points to entertain my invisible audience! I quickly came to learn that I was more than capable by myself, which propelled my successful four year run as the Weekend Wolff, who was a lone wolf on the airwaves. No, I didn’t magically become an extrovert, but I found that I was able to relate to others with ease. If I could talk about the new flavor at Starbucks to a sea of strangers for a minute, I could find something to talk to almost anyone about, which did a lot for me personally. During my four year tenure at the station, I stopped putting on the Weekend Wolff hat only on Friday afternoons and I wore it daily, helping me blossom as a person.
