Student Spotlight: Will Caynor, Strategic Communications

Will grew up in Virginia Beach, Va. He was a bit of a troublemaker in his earlier days, or as he puts it, "out causing a ruckus." His parents didn't expect him to graduate high school. But then his father, who was an electrician, took a job in Glennallen, Alaska, and Will took enough of a moratorium from his rabble rousing to finish high school there.

After graduation, Will wasn't planning on attending college. But at the last possible minute he decided to attend UAA at Prince William Sound Community College (PWSCC) in Valdez. He took some classes and then took some time off to travel and learn from the school of hard knocks.

"It took a series of things going wrong in my life for me to realize what was right for me and what I wanted to do," says Will.

With that turnaround in attitude, Will started dedicating his time to things that were important to him. After an unsuccessful stint at the University of Alaska Fairbanks he returned to PWSCC and finished his Associate of Arts degree in May 2006. Then, since his aging grandfather wasn't faring very well, Will decided to return to Virginia for a while to spend time with his grandparents. While there he had a job in a consignment store where he spent his lunch hour listening to a radio show called "Sonja's Lunch Box." After some time of calling in song requests he developed a rapport with the host. When a friend mentioned he had a voice for radio, Will figured that since he talks a lot, he might as well get paid for it. So, he called Sonja and asked what it takes to get a job in radio. She told him to put in an application and drop her name. He got a job doing promotions for the station. He did a variety of promotional gigs, from the opening of local businesses to attending concerts. He even got to meet the musician Tommy Lee. He got a taste of on-air action when he was able to fill in for people over the night shifts.

Then, when people started getting laid off at his workplace, Will decided he needed to get more education so he could stay in the field of radio. He moved to Anchorage and started on his bachelor's degree at UAA. He went to work at the student radio station, KRUA, as a sports reporter in fall of 2007. Although he loved sports, he was hesitant at first when told he was to start announcing the women's basketball games.

He says, "I didn't want to sound stupid." But when he started interviewing players and got to know the UAA teams, it became one of his favorite parts of the job. "Everyone in the Athletic Department is so open and friendly."

Will became the KRUA news director in May 2009. He says he really likes the job because not many people tell him what to do; he gets to make his own rules. He will graduate in May 2011 from the Department of Journalism and Public Communications (JPC) with an emphasis in Strategic Communications.

"Everyone in the whole JPC department really knows what they are doing.  I learned a lot from professors like Elizabeth Arnold, Ron McGee and Paola Banchero," says Will.

Now, besides having that great bass that is so great for radio, Will's voice also exudes warmth, energy and knowledge. His plans for the future are to be a sports broadcaster. But before he leaves UAA, he has some great advice to new students: "You're going to make mistakes-so learn from them!"