Tyler Hayward, Broadcasting Major

“I have never really thought of myself as a creative individual until I actually looked at the mission statement and how it described creativity. In the radio station, they have had a hard time these past couple of years getting the sports program up and running. Having seniority out of those now involved, I take it as a personal challenge to improve it in every facet.

We were given an opportunity recently to bring a proposal to our general manager to bring back the sports show that was on hiatus last year. He said we had to scrap the old format so I had to come up with an appropriate alternative format for the show. This also involved taking a risk. The general manager and myself haven’t always seen eye-to-eye and bringing up the show to him after he eliminated it, may have put me further under the bus.

Thankfully, the risk was worth the possible reward and he enjoyed my presentation. I also demonstrate a commitment to excellence through careful reflection and revision as after every broadcast, I go back and listen to the entire thing multiple times and learn from any mistakes. I also send some stuff to my boss at Spartan Sports Network so he can review it and offer pointers. Using tools and techniques in fresh and original ways is a difficult thing to do. It’s a business and all about ratings so I’ve always stuck to the basics and stuff that everybody else does so I don’t tum people off to what I’m trying to do.”