Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight: Linton Hinds (2006)
Tuesday, August 1st, 2023 by The Professor
Linton Hinds, class of 2006 is a DJ, videographer, historian, podcaster, teacher and more…Linton has pursued a multi-faceted career from WLOY to 47th Street to the high school classroom and is behind the expanding I Never Knew TV/Radio empire (now including t-shirts, podcasts and music production). I Never Knew focuses on conversations regarding Rastafarianism, the history of the African diaspora, and Caribbean culture through interviews and music. His YouTube channel, “I Never Knew TV” has surpassed 440,00 subscribers and 44 million views, bringing in an audience seeking to uncover untold stories of culture, food, health and a history of reggae music. Johnny Cozza ’24 had the opportunity to interview Linton about his projects, his time as a DJ for WLOY (as a student and now as teacher), and how Loyola helped direct him and his creative pursuits – although he began his career as a high school history teacher, Hinds felt that his passion needed to be explored further, prompting the creation of I Never Knew TV & Radio. Make sure to check out our interview with Linton Hinds, and listen in every Sunday 9-11am here for I Never Knew Radio:
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Alumni Spotlight: Jeffrey Poulos (2013)
Saturday, July 22nd, 2023 by Liz Kosik
Jeffrey Poulos (Right), a class of 2013 graduate, discusses his experiences at WLOY and shares some charismatic advice for college students.
Q: Can you tell us about your show at WLOY? (name and theme, genre of music)
A: The name of our show was ‘Know Your Role’ which received its name from the famous wrestler, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who would tell his opponents to know their role during his promotion videos before a match. I co-hosted the show with my best friend, Anthony Medina ’13 (Left in Photo), who also shares a similar passion for classic wrestling theatrics and storylines from The Rock’s era. More specifically, the show featured flashbacks of classic rock including, Black Sabbath, CCR, The Beatles, Bachman Turner Overdrive, and even lighter tunes from Cat Stevens, to Jim Croce and everything between the late 1960s through 1980s. Every show ended with either Anthony or I agreeing to tell a person, place, or thing to ‘Know Its Role’. Some examples included the weather (depending on the day), midterms/finals, and or a specific sports team. At times, we also called out slow walkers on campus and even John Devecka who never fixed the servers in time when we broke them due to the listeners we had tuned in across the world! I kid. (more…)
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Alumni Spotlight: Alex Fili (2013)
Tuesday, June 20th, 2023 by Liz Kosik
Alex Fili, a Loyola class of 2013 graduate, discusses her experience at WLOY and shares some of her favorite memories over the years.
Q: Can you tell us about your show at WLOY? (name and theme, genre of music)
A: “Not quite happy hour” from 3-5, in which I played only songs I liked. I probably wasn’t the best DJ. However, I did run “What Happens Next?” and helped WLOY win a couple of awards at CBI, this is probably more of a highlight for me than my radio show. Working with kids and giving back to the community was such a highlight of my college career.
Q: Who is your favorite artist now?
A: Hozier.
Q: What do you do for work? Did your experiences at WLOY transfer into your work?
A: I own my own dental office, I am a dentist! My experiences at WLOY are part of the reason I probably graduated Loyola, John helped keep me in line. But the work I did at WLOY, volunteering, and having a paid job during college always ensured a work ethic, time management, and responsibility.
Q: Tell us your favorite WLOY memory.
A: So many, probably running “What Happens Next?” Oh, I got to do a color commentary at the Orioles stadium for the President’s Cup Baseball Tournament! That was badass. Decorating the outside wall with all of the old vinyl covers. Taking pictures for Good DJ and Bad DJ. John not firing me is a good one.
Q: One piece of advice for current students looking to enter the broadcast/entertainment industry:
A: I do not have any advice for this as I do not work in that industry. But, working for the radio station during my college career is the reason I still love Loyola. WLOY was my family and I consider it very near and dear to my heart.
John’s note: I cannot believe that winning both the Cafe Hon Bread Pudding Eating Contest AND the Holy Frijoles Taco Eating Contest the SAME DAY at Hampdenfest wasn’t the highlight of Alex’s entire WLOY career.
Oh, and then retaining her crown by winning the Bread Pudding Contest 2 YEARS IN A ROW.
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Alumni Spotlight: Christa Constantine (2013)
Tuesday, June 13th, 2023 by Liz Kosik
Christa Constantine (2013) shares her experience at the WLOY station and some fun memories from her college years!
Q: Can you tell us about your show at WLOY? (name and theme, genre of music)
A: My show was called The Random Association Game, which is hosted with my co-DJ Sarah Karpovich for 3 years at Loyola. We played a lot of indie stuff that was popular when we were at Loyola but integrated a lot of classics from the 70s and 80s. \
Q: Who is your favorite artist now?
A: I’m really into MUNA right now! I got tickets for free last year never having listened to them, and the show got me hooked. (more…)
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Alumni Spotlight: Brandon Newby (2015)
Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 by Liz Kosik
Brandon Newby (2015) discusses their experience at the WLOY radio station. Newby shares his favorite memories as an aspiring artist and the station’s impact on his career path.
Q: Can you tell us about your show at WLOY? (name and theme, genre of music)
A: “What Cats Listen To” lmao, I don’t remember the time because we had several different time slots over the years. It started as a Pop-Punk show, but as a Hip-Hop fan, I would slide a random song in a block. It eventually became a multi-genre show. We didn’t go into it with a theme, we just wanted to hang out and play music.
Q: Who is your favorite artist now?
A: I have way too many to name, but Kid Cudi will always be a go-to. And Conway The Machine is probably my current favorite. His new album “Won’t He Do It” is a masterclass in rhyme structure and flow. (more…)
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Alumni Spotlight: Stephen Vanyo (2017)
Tuesday, May 30th, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Stephen Vanyo, a Loyola class of 2017 graduate, discusses his career as an entertainment, sports, and media attorney, and how the knowledge he gained from WLOY not only solidified a career path for him but prepared him for it as well.
Q: Can you tell us about your show at WLOY? (name and theme, genre of music)
A: Indie-anna Jones and the Underground Temple. It featured DIY artists and other independent rock music. My show focused on independent artists that were not getting the attention they deserved both locally and nationally, but I mainly focused on Baltimore and the North East.
Q: What was your show’s top-played artist?
A: Turnstile, who has since been nominated for a Grammy, and Wild Honey, a Baltimore band. I also played some music from Pianos Become The Teeth, and Free Throw. (more…)
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Alumni Spotlight: Tim Teeling (2011)
Tuesday, May 23rd, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Tim Teeling (2011) discusses their experience at the WLOY radio station, including hosting his show “Under the Radar”, and becoming General Manager at the station.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your show.
A: I hosted a show called Under the Radar. Featuring artists spanning pop/indie/folk/Americana that didn’t make it mainstream. Later after becoming General Manager, I helped host the weekly Friday at Boulder Top 20 Countdown. Also got to pretend to be John for a few episodes of Centsable Finance.
Q: Who was your show’s top-played artist?
A: Found an old Facebook group from 2008 and it looks like Matt Nathanson and Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. (more…)
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Alumni Spotlight: Matt Weitzel (2017)
Tuesday, May 16th, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Matt Weitzel, from the class of 2017 describes the path from WLOY to working in radio today, and how his experiences at WLOY prepared him for his career.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about your show at WLOY?
A: My show was “It’s A Hard Rock Life” and we played everything from Avenged Sevenfold to Pearl Jam, to Taking Back Sunday. There was also a spinoff called “It’s A Harder Rock Life” that aired Saturdays at midnight where we played all the metal (and its 7 million subgenres) that we got yelled at for playing during the daytime show! (more…)
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Alumni Spotlight: Joelle Hernandez (2014)
Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Joelle Hernandez graduated from Loyola in 2014 and went on to use skills she learned from her experiences at the station in her current career. Joelle gives us a look into her time at WLOY and shares her advice for current Loyola students!
Q: Can you tell us a bit about your show on WLOY?
A: I hosted a show with my twin sister, Jordan, called Double Dose of Entertainment! It aired on Friday evenings from 7-9 PM. We played R&B and Hip-Hop music and talked about entertainment/celebrity news.
Q: What was your show’s top-played artist?
A: Beyonce & Rihanna! Lots of Ciara and Sevyn Streeter were thrown in as well. (more…)
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Alumni Spotlight: Michael Ashley-Mennis (2010)
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 by Charlie Wahlberg
Michael Ashley-Mennis, a 2010 graduate of Loyola University Maryland, shares their experience at the radio station and shares advice to students looking to enter the broadcasting and entertainment space.
Q: Can you tell us about your shows at WLOY?
A: Old Time Radio Hour, Radio Dramas: I worked with John first to figure out who had the rights to play classic radio shows (Escape, The Shadow, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar) then he pointed me in the direction of a group in Los Angeles who had old tapes of the shows. We struck a deal where we’d take the tape recordings, clean them up and send back CDs while we could record and play the shows on air. (more…)
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