Hawk Radio took over the Student Activities Center in early October to celebrate National College Radio Day for the third consecutive year.

The 24-hour broadcast and party was full of events and the video game contest was a huge hit for everyone that attended.  Like with all live broadcasts and moving parties however, Murphy’s Law was in full effect.

On the day prior to the event, the station was informed that they would need to change their venue, as the main space in Franciscan Hall was needed for faculty purposes. With a few small changes to the plan, Hawk Radio managed to pull together and relocate their broadcast only a few feet away from their new studio in Franciscan Hall while making good use of time to transform the space. The broadcast day was scheduled to begin at 3pm, but the Shoutcast broadcasting service used by the station was not operating properly.

Station crew along with faculty advisor Don Vincent continued forward with everything they had planned related to the event while waiting for the servers to get back up and running.

“It was unfortunate, But I think it didn’t effect the event itself, if you were there you were still hearing the music and hearing people talk and stuff” Vincent said.

Sometime before 6 p.m. the station was fully operational and a new star was born. Nykeria Brockington, a new addition to the station proved that she truly has the gift of gab and is a natural broadcaster. Her shift involved over an hour straight of talk and laughter leading up to and a live music performance by the Midnight Ramblers. Program Manager, Rosalie Constable complimented the first year member of the station

“It was phenomenal,” she said

This was one of the best turnouts for a College Radio Day here at Hilbert and the video game tournaments helped to retain interest throughout the day.  Vincent earned a spot in the finals of one contest before suffering a crushing defeat.

“I thought the Mario Cart tournament was kind of like a fun way to wrap up the night,” Vincent said. “It was the last big event that we did.”

In the morning breakfast was served and the event was combined together with a farmers market along with a pet blessing ceremony. The station members expressed their gratitude toward all of those who attended and participated. By the time the microphones went cold, their new station was transformed from a blank walled room with a laptop on a metal desk, into a real radio studio that they are proud to show off.

Plans for next year’s event will start to take shape in the spring semester, but Constable was proud of the hard work that everyone put in along with the turnout from students and staff, she said.

“I think it was a huge success, I think it was the best one that I’ve seen yet,” Constable said.