Middletown Youth Radio in Christian Science Monitor

Wow, and more great WesU stuff...

There's a fantastic story today in the Christian Science Monitor about the Middletown Youth Radio Project, through which preteen local residents of T-Square host their own radio shows at WesU:

Every Friday night, two 10- to 12-year-old DJs put on their headsets in the WESU radio studios at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and host their own half-hour radio show.

Kid DJs Clayton Smith and Ayanna Perez, both seventh-graders, write stories, poems, and songs for their weekly show. The program, "The Middletown Youth Radio Project" (MYRP), partners 12 elementary and middle-school students with eight Wesleyan University (WU) student mentors.

Every week, mentors help the young DJs edit their songs and stories at DJ workshops. Mu Abeledo, a WESU DJ and a senior at WU, and Jessica Jones, a former WU student, started the program in 2007.

Before the young DJs host their shows, each makes up an on-air name. For example, Clayton is DJ C-Dog and Ayanna is DJ Strawberry Shortcake.

These youthful DJs also have a chance to conduct interviews with people in the community. Recently, fifth-grader Chris Madera and his mentor, senior Eli Scherer, visited Marco's Italian Deli to interview its owner. This was the first time Chris had interviewed someone. He used a handheld recorder to record the interview. Afterward, Chris edited the interview and played it on the air.

Read more.