On air, in the classroom

Kevin Ankeny says a series of "planned accidents" brought him to SUNY Adirondack.  

"Teaching wasn't my career aspiration when I was young. My mother was a teacher and it didn't seem very appealing. I had an uncle who was a newspaper reporter. His job seemed pretty cool. I enjoyed writing and caught the journalism bug in sixth grade when my language arts class created a school newspaper."

Ankeny majored in journalism in college, thinking he would like to be a sports writer. 

"One day, I connected with kids at the college radio station and found I enjoyed the added dimension of turning written words into sound. I liked the challenge of performing without a safety net, too — live, over-the-air to an unseen audience."

The summer after his junior year of college, he worked at a 1,000-watt AM station near his hometown. "When I graduated, that part-time job turned into a full-time gig at the co-owned FM Top 40 station. My on-air career took me on a 10-year journey to five different stations in three different markets. During my last stop at a regional FM powerhouse, I landed a part-time position managing a college radio station. That led to developing a radio production course, which the department chairperson said I wasn't qualified to teach because I didn't have an advanced degree. Under somewhat mysterious circumstances, the job advertisement wasn't posted in time and the dean agreed to let me teach the course. It was fun — much like on-air radio where every day presents new challenges. My wife encouraged me to go to grad school and pursue a new career."

  
More than two decades later, Kevin is still excited when a new semester begins. "Students approach the subjects I teach with their own perceptions, perspectives and expectations. From semester to semester, I witness students growing personally and academically. By the end of their time at Adirondack, many broadcasting majors transform from tentative students to confident broadcasters ready to chase their own dreams."

 
"Some  people never find a career they love. I guess I'm lucky. I found two."