Chris Velardi - WJPZ Class of 1995 turned SU Employee

Chris Velardi - WJPZ Class of 1995 turned SU Employee

Author: WJPZ March 1, 2023 Duration: 25:10

Chris Velardi, Class of 1995, is the Director of Digital Engagement and Communications of SU's Office of Alumni Engagement.  He joins us today to walk us through his time from Connecticut to Syracuse to Connecticut to Syracuse.

 

Chris got to SU from the Nutmeg State, like many of us, wanting to be a sportscaster.  He quickly found a job in the Carrier Dome.   When that, um, changed, he found WJPZ.  There, he earned the nickname "The Weasel," because he weaseled his way into every aspect of the station, wanting to get as involved as possible.

 

Following graduation, Chris worked in radio news in Ithaca, before transitioning to TV.  His next move was a dream job - being a morning anchor in his home state.   In fact, he stayed there for a decade and a half.  Then, he and his family decided it was time for a change.  We spend some time talking about the difficulties of moving out of TV and radio.   In fact, it's a topic Velardi has counseled many WJPZ alumni on.

 

Like many media folks, Chris first tried PR - but didn't have the same passion.  Then, through his network (he likes network as a noun but hates it as a verb), he came upon a job opportunity at his alma mater.  Next thing you know, he and his family were headed to Central New York, where he gets to play host at Banquet every year.

 

Velardi credits his time at WJPZ for teaching him out to multitask, as well as how to hear and understand different perspectives.  And you won't want to miss this story.  You'll find out why, 30 years later, he still gets screen shots whenever someone hears En Vogue.

 

The WJPZ at 50 Podcast is produced by Jon "JAG" Gay, Class of 2022, and his company JAG in Detroit Podcasts

Want to be on the show? Email JAG at jag@jagpodcastproductions.com

Connect with the WJPZ Alumni Association: https://wjpzalumniassociation.org/


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For fifty years, the student-run airwaves of Syracuse University's WJPZ at 50 have been more than a radio station; they've been a launchpad. This oral history project captures that legacy not through dry facts, but through the voices that built it. Each episode is a conversation with a different alumnus, from the pioneers of the 1970s to recent graduates, tracing how their hands-on experience in what's called the "world's greatest media classroom" shaped careers in broadcasting and far beyond. You'll hear personal stories of late-night broadcasts, technical mishaps turned into triumphs, and the forging of lifelong bonds that created a unique professional family spanning generations. This podcast digs into the real, often messy, work of learning by doing, revealing how a campus station became an enduring institution. Tune in for a collection of fifty interviews that together form a living archive, celebrating the people, not just the programming, behind five decades of student-led radio.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

WJPZ at 50
Podcast Episodes
Matthew Reschke, aka R Source [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:45
We're talking today with Matthew Reschke, also known as R Source, from the class of 2012. Matt's connection to WJPZ started in his childhood, growing up near Syracuse and engaging with the station's DJs through AOL - bef…
What Happens (at the NAB Show) in Vegas [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:29
Every year, the WJPZ Alumni Association, via the Berrell Award, sends two students to an industry event. In 2023, GM Grace Denton and former sports director Joe Puccio went to Vegas for the National Association of Broadc…
Kelly (Foster) and Adam Shapiro, Class of 1992 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:39
If you don't know Adam and Kelly (Foster) Shapiro's backstory, you might assume it's yet another romance started in the halls of WJPZ. Their story, as you'll hear here, is a much different road than than other Z89 couple…
Meteorologist Dave Roberts, Class of 1992 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:48
While many of us flipped burgers or bagged groceries in high school, Dave Roberts was reading the news on an AM station and (literally) herding cats as a 15 year old. When he toured Syracuse and saw the WJPZ prize van, a…
Seattle Mariners VP of Marketing Kevin Martinez, Class of 1988 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:32
Kevin Tippy Martinez, '88, is the Senior Vice President of Marketing Communications for the Seattle Mariners. It's no surprise that this New Jersey native, with passions for baseball and broadcasting, found himself trans…
Mike Roberts, longtime V103 Morning Man and PD, Class of 1979 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:55
Mike Roberts, Class of 1979, is one of the people who helped kept WJPZ alive in the early days. With the station's founders having graduated, Mike empowerd a team to run radio station, passing its educational lessons for…
GM Marc Bokoff, '87, on the Sit-In at WJPZ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:45
Today we interview Marc Bokoff, from the class of 1987. A management major, Marc came to the station as business manager under then-GM Larry Barron, before becoming general manager himself. He took over the station in th…
Scott Greene, Class of '93: Newspaper to Radio and Back! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:32
Scott Greene, '93, grew up just outside Boston wanting to be a newspaper reporter. He did it in high school and came to Syracuse wanting to pursue that career. But WJPZ quickly drew him in, and he says the only columns h…
Marty D, Class of 2001, Draws Out The Laughs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:07
Links!All of Marty's current work, including podcasts: https://weeklyhumorist.com/Marty's archive of Z Morning Zoo bits, including the full Rick Wright tour of the Ostrom House: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/ascjv18c5…