WMPG listeners know Emma Brearley. She’s the student coordinator who shows up to all the events. She’s the DJ who likes to play Hispanic pop, 90s rock, progressive metal, and Seattle grunge.
She’s the show host who chats about airplanes.
“I talk about the planes I’ve seen around Portland, just like tracking,” said Brearley. “A lot of people tune in for that, which is fun.”
Brearley, 22, will graduate from the University of Southern Maine on Saturday, May 10, with a dual major in both Communications and Tourism and Hospitality. The milestone signals not only a major change in her education, but also a change in her life at the university radio station.
Brearley first encountered WMPG her second month on campus freshman year. She needed a work-study job; WMPG needed a work-study student.
“I saw a couple of jobs and that one stuck out to me just because it’s a radio station. Where else would I get an opportunity like that?” she said.
She got involved in events and audio engineering. Then she started her own show.
“I just never left,” Brearley said.
Every other Friday for the past four years she’s hosted “What’s In My Mind,” a 90-minute show that features general conversations and eclectic music hand-chosen by Brearley. Last Friday, for example, she played ABBA, Daft Punk, John Williams, and John Lennon. (Connected to the theme: saying goodbye.)
“I think it’s really fun to force the general public to listen to my music,” she said. “I get a lot of regular callers and people who say they really enjoy my show and what I talk about and listen to. It’s like a really fun community connection.”
Some of her most loyal fans come for the planes. Early on, Brearley discovered that she — the daughter of a travel agent — loved talking about airplanes and that her listeners loved hearing about them. She dedicated a whole segment to plane talk.
Last week, Brealey held her last show as a student DJ. Listeners called in to wish her well and talk about the things they enjoyed about her shows. At the top of the list: her airplane discussions.
“I was actually at the Health and Wellness fair a couple of months ago and a USM staff member came up to me and said they love listening to my plane chat,” she said. “I really love that.”
Being a DJ wasn’t always easy. For the first two or three years, Brearley started each show with her heart racing, scared that things were going to go wrong. And sometimes things did. But she realized she could handle any issue that came up and, gradually, that anxiety eased.
“Now it’s comfortable. It’s like any other day,” she said.
Graduation means a lot of goodbyes. For Brearley one of those goodbyes will be to her student job at the radio station she’s called home for four years. But it may not mean goodbye for good. While she can’t be a student worker, she can be a volunteer.
Brearley plans to be back in the booth for at least a couple of months this summer while she looks for a full time job. Depending on her schedule, she hopes to continue in some capacity after she starts her career.
“I can’t just say goodbye to this all,” she said.