Change is difficult for everyone, and if there’s one word to summarize how the year has gone for Andrews’ classical music radio station WAUS, it’s exactly that: change. After station manager Sharon Dudgeon’s passing, trying to fill the gaps that she left while grappling with the legacy that she handed down to us was an enormous task—especially for staff who were close to her, not just professionally but on a personal level. As I talked to some of the other student workers and staff at the station, I got the clear sense that many of us are still learning how to deal with the adjustments that are still in progress. However, I also feel grateful that we are able to work together in continuing to bring classical music to our listeners, something that Sharon was so passionate about.
It's come with a lot of challenges. It's come with a lot of change. We have a brand new underwriting director. We have a brand new technical director. We’re figuring out how we're going to move forward, like the innovations that we're interested in making while continuing what we're already doing. And we've learned that we have a very strong core team. We have really committed students who we've all pulled together to make it happen. We're still able to bring really high quality programming and we're hoping to continue leveling up and producing the same high standard of programming moving forward. We didn't understand how much Sharon was doing until she was gone. The first fundraiser (happening this week) has been hard because she was like the station mom, and now it kind of feels like I am the one having to take on that role. It still feels like Sharon is going to walk down the hall at any time. I wish she was here so I could ask her how she did it all. She made it look so easy.
Chelsea Lake, Music Director
So this has been a big year of change. And change is…sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's bad. Oftentimes it's just what it is and it's what you make of it. How we navigate change is always going to be a challenge, and this year we've lost for us what's a national treasure. In one respect we'll never get that back. But the foundation that she laid, what Sharon did—her vision and her leadership—inspired all of us and we're still here. We're going to keep pushing forward. For me as general manager, a lot of that is taking all the pieces that she put on the board. And now we're going to start to change the game up a little bit, but the game hasn't changed. She gave us the dedication and the values and the desire to super serve our radio audience, and we're going to keep doing that. I look forward to the challenges that are coming up because I have a tremendous amount of faith in the team. I think we've got a great group of folks here. We work well together. We're excited to move forward and we will absolutely maintain our quality while still making improvements. The wonderful thing about Sharon is she allowed us to focus on what we were doing. She protected us from a lot of outside factors so we don't always know the details about the pots she was stirring and plates she was spinning. It's a lot like picking up the mantle from a good mom—I mean, she did it for 30 years and definitely knew what she was doing.
Jeff Smith, General Manager
I was really close with Sharon so it's been a little rough getting used to her not being here. She was a good friend and more than a boss. I miss her quirky sense of humor. Last year, a lot of people passed away in my life so it was just a depressing year. I'm being optimistic for this year though, both professionally, with the changes here to the station; and personally, trying to get back in shape and getting rid of this pandemic belly. The future looks great for the station and I'm excited about that. You know, we're getting over the hump of Sharon being gone and we have to move ahead and also keep her memory alive. So this year, it's been better and a lot of great things have happened—my son got married and my daughter’s also making big life changes.
Teddy Weithers, Marketing Director
Over the last several months since Sharon has died there have been a lot of changes, though I don't know if they would be noticed by the listeners. Things are changing slowly and I do tend to think the changes being made are for the better. We're still in the period of figuring things out and finding our new normal.
Robert Raney (graduate, music ministry), student announcer
This week kicked off the start of our two week fall fundraiser, where all of the student and regular announcers get on air together throughout the day to raise money from our listeners, which helps keep our station running throughout the year. As we promote WAUS together, I remember how hard Sharon worked on air to get support for the station and hope that we can honor her memory by keeping WAUS alive and well. Readers can show their support by donating to waus.org or giving us a call this week or next week at 1-800-553-9287!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.