From Campus Radio to Media Careers

Quite a few KLC graduates have used their college radio experience as a springboard to careers in media, including former 1980s station manager Mike Lutz BA ’85, who is senior vice president of an IMAX film production company in California.

“My experience at KLC absolutely has been integral to everything I’ve done since I graduated from college,” says Lutz, who notes that he considered KLC “my overseas experience” because he spent so much time at the station and never took the time to study abroad.

One alumnus who pursued a career in radio is “Gustav” BA ’92, a longtime DJ on KNRK-FM, an alternative music station in Portland. He recalls coming across KLC “by accident” during New Student Orientation and being enthralled by the cluttered studio with its stacks of records. He was required to endure some time as a “purg” (short for purgatory), doing grunt work at the station and getting trained before airing his own show, which he dubbed “The Music Moderntage.”

“It was very edgy. There was always something new and exciting happening,” Gustav says of his student days. “Had I not done KLC, I’m certain I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now.”