Jen Nycz-Conner, '95, on Applying WJPZ Lessons Through Multiple Careers

Jen Nycz-Conner, '95, on Applying WJPZ Lessons Through Multiple Careers

Author: WJPZ January 15, 2024 Duration: 59:37

Jen Nycz-Conner felt like she applied to every college in the Big East (RIP) before falling in love with the communications program at Syracuse.  Once on campus, she found a fellow freshman with a map.  She and Steve Donovan went to the radio station, met B.B. Good, and the rest is history.

Living above the station in Watson as a sophomore, Jen got more involved with the station, and soon became VP of Operations as she and her 1995 classmates ran WJPZ.  Actually, she wasn't technically Class of 1995 - as she explains.

She also talks about many of the friendships she's formed through the alumni association, with WJPZ family members she didn't go to school with.

During school, she secured internships with Jim Henson productions and HBO Sports, the latter of which led to work after graduation.   And this included some entry level "pay your dues" jobs.

Soon, her husband Chris was in DC, and Jen was in New York.  Something had to give, and she found a job working with the ProServ agency in Arlington, Virigina.

Through mergers, acquisitions, and a changing economy, Jen's next stop was Women in Film and Video in DC.  This nonprofit work connected her with the Washington Business Journal, where she'd work for nearly a decade and a half, including time on air on legendary DC Radio station WTOP.

After the job at Washington Business Journal, Jen had a few different career paths in mind.   When her current job at Hilton came up, it checked all of her boxes.

Through her one-of-a-kind career, Jen talks throughout today's epsiode about the lessons learned at WJPZ, and how they've served her well.

The WJPZ at 50 Podcast Series is produced by Jon Gay, Class of 2002, and his podcast production agency, JAG in Detroit Podcasts.

Sign up for email alerts whenever we release a new episode here: jagindetroit.com/WJPZat50

Want to be a guest on the pod or know someone else who would? Email Jag:  jag@jagindetroit.com.

Want to stay in the loop with WJPZ Alumni events?  Subscribe to our newsletter on the right hand side of the page at http://wjpzalumni.org/

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

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


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.


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
Christy (Ogonis) Vincent, Class of 2005 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:57
Today's guest is an all-star in the worlds of business, digital, and all things WJPZ. Christy Vincent (nee Ogonis), from the Class of 2005 arrived on campus with a passion for music, but it was at an activity fair that B…
Katz Media's Scott Taylor, Class of 1993 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:46
Today's episode is a great listen if you've ever been interested in sales or the ad rep side of things. Scott Taylor, Class of 1993, has been at Katz Media for his entire 30 year career, since graduation. We start with h…
Dr. David Crider, Pulse Summer Staffer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:23
For our first post-Banquet podcast, we get a fresh perspective today. Dr. David Crider, now a professor at SUNY-Oswego, was a high-school summer staffer at WJPZ during The Pulse years. It was the foundational knowledge h…
Interviewing our Host: Jon "JAG" Gay, Class of 2002 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:35
Today, we turn the tables on our host and put Jon "JAG" Gay, from the Class of 2002, in the hot seat. Doing the honors is his classmate and one of this year's Hall of Fame inductees, Matt DelSignore. Matt starts by askin…
Lauren (Levine) Corriher, Class of 2010 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:49
Lauren (Levine) Corriher grew up in Syracuse and in radio. Her father Ed owns radio stations in Syracuse and Utica, and Lauren was listening to WJPZ on the bus to and from middle school. In fact, 13 year old Lauren was r…
Chris Velardi - WJPZ Class of 1995 turned SU Employee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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 Syr…
Hall of Famer Carl Weinstein ('88) and son Cole ('21) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:57
As we count down to Banquet, we've got a special episode of the podcast today. WJPZ Hall of Famer Carl Weinstein, Class of 1988 joins us along with his sole Cole, who followed in his WJPZ footsteps and just graduated in…
Stephen "Tex" Kurtz, Class of 2005 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:14
There are a number of people, on the technical side, that have worked tirelessly to keep our radio station going for half a century. Over the last 20 years though, Stephen "Tex" Kurtz is at the top of that list.Born in r…
A Short Message from Jag [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:52
Email Jag: jag@jagindetroit.comHey everyone, it’s Jag with a couple of quick announcements about the podcast.First and foremost, I can’t thank you enough for your incredible support of this project. Thank you to those wh…
WCCO's Steve Simpson, Class of 1985 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:26
Today's guest is Steve Simpson, morning news anchor and editor at the legendary WCCO in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He's WJPZ Class of 1985, and he tells us some great stories from Syracuse, as well as a lengthy radio career…