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Aklavik tunes in to students

Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, July 30, 2012

AKLAVIK
Aklavik residents tuning in to their community radio station are listening to some familiar voices, thanks to a popular summer student program.

Curtis Illasiak, Frank Gruben and Steven Gruben, along with supervisor Jayneta Pascal, run the community radio show every day from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. On Tuesdays, they are on from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. They do everything from play music to read messages on air.

Illasiak said he enjoys the job.

"I love it," he said.

Pascal said it is the third year the summer student group, which is sponsored by the hamlet, has partnered with the radio station. She said in past years, students were only responsible for the radio station three days a week, but the idea became so popular they are now heard every day.

"Everybody started getting interested in the community, so we started doing it every day in the summer," Pascal said. "They wanted us to do the show more often."

The students handle song requests, take information from the community and broadcast messages throughout the afternoon. They also share hosting duties.

"If they want to hear this sort of music, we'll play it," Pascal said. "We do announcements from businesses and organizations in town, whatever is happening around town."

Students are also responsible for planning summer activities for youth and adults, such as floor hockey and baseball games, said Steven.

"We work from Monday to Friday 12 to nine, every day," he said.

Pascal said while the program teaches organizational skills, it's also a great way for students to get technical experience working in radio.

"It's a fun experience," she said.

Illasiak, who also worked at the radio station last year, said the job has encouraged him to look into future career options. He said he would like to take more technical and recreation programs at school.

Until then, he's happy to go to work every day.

"I love my job," he said. "There's nothing else I would rather have done this summer."

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