Sara Darwish
A WKNC program that aim to highlight the work and voices of those enacting postivie change, Oak City Move was founded in early February of 2017 by myself and Phian Tran, a recent NC State graduate and WKNC alumna. I had never stepped foot into a radio station, let alone hosted my own show, so I was initially hesitant about working for WKNC. However, I have had a fantastic year with WKNC and our show, so here are five things I’ve learned during Oak City Move’s first year:
- People can suck
They won’t always be respectful of the space or your opinions, and will even call you out on your “normie” music. There will always be those that criticize your words and execution on air, and refuse to empathize with the sentiments you share.
- But they can also be really great too
The amount of support I’ve received in the past year has been astounding. From strangers to friends and family to WKNC as a whole, there have always been people that have reached out to continue the dialogue we have on air and pushing us forward with our work through their encouragement. WKNC in particular has been supportive of OCM’s message and actions from day one, which I am very grateful for.
- There are so many people doing amazing work that you don’t know about
Prior to working on OCM, I was aware of some organizations and individuals that were doing good for their community, but WOW are there a lot! The mediums in which people are doing positive work is super broad, so be sure to check out every avenue you can think of (and then some). My personal favorites of the non-traditional mediums include visual art, agriculture, and music!
- There is much more that goes into college radio than you’d think
Before coming to WKNC, whenever I heard the term “DJ”, I envisioned a guy scratching records on a turntable (spoiler alert: that doesn’t happen all that often in the studio). For OCM, we have to brainstorm ideas, reach out to interviewees, plan questions, promote on social media, do the actual show, edit the recording, and put it out to you all! There is also a multitude of other people and responsibilities that go into the success of WKNC.
- Students have more power than they think
I think it’s safe to say that on a campus as big as NC State’s, it can be easy to feel small and voiceless. Oak City Move helped me find my voice and my purpose at this school, and I have been exposed to more opportunities and remarkable people in the past year than I have in my previous 17 years of life. I obtained a leadership position within WKNC, became Facebook friends with a member of the North Carolina Senate, and met so many cool people.
You can reach Oak City Move at oakcitymove@gmail.com and listen to past episodes here.