by Emma Fleming
Cale Fleming, a student here at Parkland, grew up in Paxton, Illinois and graduated from Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School. Fleming currently lives in Urbana and is greatly influenced by the college sports culture that surrounds him. Fleming is a Media Arts and Production major who has a dream of having his own radio show someday. “I either want to be a play-by-play announcer or I want to be a sports-talk radio host,” Fleming said. Fleming mentioned that athletics have always been a big part of his life, and that athletics led him to choose his major. “I am a big sports fan and radio has always been interesting,” Fleming said. “I want to do a job every day that I do not hate, and for me that job is radio.”
Fleming chose to attend Parkland because of the atmosphere. Parkland’s laid back and calm atmosphere is what drew him to the college. Fleming also stated that, “Everyone is ready and willing to help you here.” One of the people that Fleming referred to was Deane Geiken, radio director of WPCD radio. “Everyone here [Parkland] and at the radio station is chill,” Fleming said. “An example being Deane Geiken, he helps everyone out to make sure they succeed.”
Fleming is enrolled in COM 141, which is Basic Broadcast Announcing. He hosts a show on Parkland’s WPCD radio on Sunday mornings from 8-10 a.m. Fleming stated that COM 141 students are required to host shows on WPCD in order to obtain credit for the class. “Every COM 141 student is required to complete 8 radio shows in order to pass the class,” Fleming said. “And before you can become a radio DJ, you have to do 8 radio shifts in a practice studio.”
Upon being asked about his favorite thing about WPCD, Fleming responded with, “Everybody in there [WPCD] is mild-mannered, and we all like to have fun while we learn.” Fleming’s two-hour show is unique in that it is one of the few shows that addresses the sports world. “When I’m not playing music, I talk about sports and basically only sports,” Fleming said. “I have never really had much interest in movie stars or other forms of entertainment; I just like to focus on sports.”
When it comes to music, Fleming is interested in alternative and rock from a different generation. “I usually stick to nineties rock or alternative; I am not the biggest fan of the newer alternative,” he said. “I typically like harder and faster music, which I get from nineties rock.” Going back to Fleming’s sports theme, he also likes nineties alternative and rock because it reminds him of pump-up music. “I like playing that type of music because it feels like the kind of music you would play in a locker room to get pumped before a game,” Fleming said. He also mentioned that he particularity enjoys the music style of the nineties, and how the meanings behind the songs then differ from now.
Another aspect of Fleming’s WPCD experience is conducting interviews. Interviews are not a specific requirement for the COM 141 class, but students typically conduct interviews anyway. “I love to interview people,” Fleming said. “Whether the interview is sports related or not, I just like to learn from people and hear different perspectives.” So far, Fleming has interviewed two people and plans to interview a few more before the end of the semester. “Different hosts ask different interview questions, but I typically ask people about their personal strengths or what it is they like about Parkland,” Fleming said.
According to Fleming, Parkland is a great place to begin your career or a great first step in furthering your education. For Fleming, it was a great place to begin his radio broadcasting journey. “If you’re looking to get into this career, there isn’t much pay,” Fleming said. “This is a career that requires a lot of passion.” The Parkland communications and broadcasting departments have provided Fleming with quite a few opportunities that he hasn’t been able to find elsewhere.
*Cale is the brother of reporter Emma Fleming
