106.9 The X, Fanshawe’s broadcast radio station, is turning 40 years old! To celebrate this milestone, many notable alumni are returning to take a walk down memory lane.
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One of these alumni include 1980 graduate Murray Brookshaw. He is one of the students responsible for putting Fanshawe College on the air. He was hired on a summer grant to launch the radio station. He says that the atmosphere while working on the station was unforgettable.
“It was just the comradery that we had one common goal to put this station om the air. It was the challenge of learning knew things, it was the nervous excitement. It was kind of like Christmas Day.”
Brookshaw has come far since his days at Fanshawe. He is now the vice president of content for radio broadcasting company, Vista Radio. Walking into the station brings back a flood of memories for him.
“It was a wave of nostalgia while I was walking over to talk to the first year students and we walked by the old studios and where 6 X used to be. It feels like the same type of energy as it did when I went here.”
Even he cannot believe that it’s been 40 years since the station first went on air.
“I think it’s incredible that its 40 years, because it feels like yesterday. Seeing some people that I went to school with, that I haven’t seen in 40 years, that’s going to be absolutely incredible.”
The station gives radio and broadcast journalism students a chance to receive a diploma, while also giving them hands on experience. Brookshaw believes that students can achieve the same amount of success as him if they take advantage of the opportunities around them.
“I think they need to be veracious in their learning. I think they need to open their minds to learn as many new things as they can everyday.”
The celebration will include guest speakers Dana Lewis and Alan Cross, followed by a tour of the broadcast centre and ending with class reunions.
