The Life of a KTSW Worker

By Austin Cowan
Assistant Web Content Manager

It is no secret that KTSW is filled with students diligently working to make this radio station the best it can possibly be. Often, our listeners receive little information about our radio world. Below is some information about a few KTSW directors, showing how life is on the Other Side of the Drive.

Promotions Director – Andrea Torres

Andrea Torres is our promotions director. She is responsible for maintaining the face of KTSW. Our promotions team spends hours each week promoting the station in both the city of San Marcos and Texas State University. The promotions team is responsible for putting on KTSW’s events. If anyone out there wants to learn more about our station while hanging out with an exciting staff, then Andrea Torres is your person to contact.

Torres’s job is very demanding because she is required to work in and outside the station for up to or more than 20 hours each week, on top of her school schedule. Being in promotions is a lot of fun but it is not easy, especially for those who do not manage their time well. Torres has proven her dedication to KTSW not only through her performance as a director, but by donating her time as well.

“Yeah, as the director you have to be in the station for a lot more hours than a regular employee or volunteer,” said Torres. “I am here for about 20 hours a week, which is very demanding especially with my school schedule.”

Being the promotions director definitely comes with its fair share of pros and cons. Being a director at KTSW helps many Texas State students get jobs because this station is seen as prestigious in the eyes of employers. However, great reward comes with great sacrifice so Torres has to sacrifice her energy often.

“I can definitely say it has been helping me a lot with preparing for my future and get an idea about what I want to be doing in the grown up life,” said Torres. “I’m pretty tired all the time.”

Being the promotions director has made Torres have to step up not just as a manager but as a friend as well. KTSW’s staff are pretty good friends with one another so having to separate work conversation from daily conversation with friends can be difficult at times. Torres tries to lead her staff well through both careful conversation with volunteers and listening to their needs as well.

“It can be tough when working with friends. Having to separate work from friendship can take some time, but you just have to communicate well with your staff and let them know you have their best interest in mind,” said Torres. “So, I try my best to listen and communicate with them.”

Graphic Design Director – Erin Garrigan

Erin Garrigan is the head graphic designer for KTSW. She is in charge of making sure that she and her staff create artwork in a timely fashion. Being in charge of her department has made her step up not just as a director but as a leader. Managing her department takes hours of planning, but the entire station would not look as professional without the logos and designs they create for us.

“I get a lot of requests for many different things, but mainly for events,” said Garrigan. “But sometimes specialty shows come and need logos.”

When creating logos and designs for clients, Garrigan tries hard to connect her client to the design as much as possible. By sitting down and talking to her clients, she is able to make her graphics match the feel of the specialty shows they are for. If someone needs a graphic, then Erin Garrigan is a person qualified to do this for you. She is responsible for many of our sports logos, as well as our Other Side Drive logos and many, many blog illustrations.

“I like to meet with the person and ask what they want on it. I want to get the feel for the show so I can put it in the graphics,” said Garrigan. “But I will make sure I have a title obviously and the time it comes on is really important.”

Managing a team has made Garrigan step up as a leader because enforcing deadlines can be difficult when your staff is made up of volunteer college students. Nevertheless, with good planning and management her team has made quality content for the station despite the workload these students receive from their classes.

“It can be difficult expressing time with my staff,” said Garrigan. “I understand it is hard with class and they are just volunteers, but they still do a good job. Time management is very important. I have definitely learned that nothing is perfect the first time around, and you will have to make edits for it and make time for that.”

Sports Director – Parker Rhea

Parker Rhea is the Sports Director for KTSW. The sports department is especially busy now that football season is happening. Rhea has worked hard to not only improve the sports department but his staffs performance as well. Leading a team is not always easy for Rhea, especially when he has to correct the mistakes his staff makes, however he has really enjoyed his time here at KTSW. Rhea’s experience as the sports director will help him land future internships and jobs in the future.

Being the sports director requires Rhea to be conscious of how he interacts with his staff. The sports staff are extremely dedicated to their jobs so Rhea really tries to correct their mistakes in a way which will improve them instead of tearing them down. Rhea strives to get down and dirty with his staff by always doing what he asks them to do if not more.

“It’s a lot more work, obviously, but it’s been fun. The biggest thing is that I am really trying to not separate myself from the group,” said Rhea. “I do everything they do. Everything I ask them to do is stuff I have already done or am still doing.”

Rhea is hoping that his time here at KTSW will help him when he leaves college in the near future for the real world. Landing an internship with ESPN’s radio station is one hope that he has and being the sports director at KTSW will definitely make him stand out against the competition. KTSW is a great resource for college students to take advantage of when wanting radio experience, and Rhea most certainly is benefiting from his position at KTSW.

“I’m hoping it will ease the transition of college to the real world. I am trying to get hooked up with the ESPN radio station 97.5,” said Rhea. “I have emailed the guy back and forth and he has kept up with me, saying stay with it. I will be working with KTSW until May but in the summer I want to head back to the Houston area and intern there.”

There are many benefits Rhea has received while being the KTSW sports director. However, one benefit Rhea pointed out was that he gets paid. There are only a few paid positions here at KTSW so getting financially rewarded here really helps Rhea out.

“I get paid. You get paid a little bit doing games and stuff but getting paid to do games and a base salary is pretty cool,” said Rhea.

Being the sports director dominates much of Rhea’s time. Managing his work schedule along with school takes up most of his time so free time is hard to come by. When Rhea is not busy with work he enjoys sleeping.

“This is the busiest semester of my existence here at Texas State,” Rhea said. “It has been really hard as far as that is concerned. I usually have a little free time but when I have free time now I am normally sleeping.”

Life at KTSW is hard and requires hours of work from everyone on staff. However, these people are developing skills which will not just make them good workers in the work field but key assets to companies they will work for, if not own someday. The life of a KTSW worker is a unique one but these people will have it no other way.

Featured image by Madison Tyson.