I’m on air as an announcer from 4 to 8 pm on Saturdays and 6 to 11 pm Sundays; I also fill in during the week when the other announcers are away. And I produce the national countdown radio show Hits Storm, which airs in Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton.

Originally, I set my sights on a four-year degree in criminal justice from Ryerson. I’d always loved broadcasting, but didn’t know how to get into the field until I found Humber College’s radio broadcasting program. I graduated last August.

Growing up, I liked to imitate Toronto Raptors announcer Chuck Swirsky doing basketball games, as well as various news people. I wanted to do news or sports, and now I’m doing neither: I do music.

I sang from a young age, at church, weddings and funerals, and I still sing at parties. In my final year of high school I got a chance to do the public address announcing for the basketball team. That fulfilled a dream.

The Humber teachers and their contacts were really helpful in getting my foot in the door – and it really is all about that in this industry. Humber has its own music radio station, 96.9, so we had on-air shifts and operated the board by ourselves. I fell in love with the idea of being a music jock.

As an announcer, you’re on the front line; you’re the first person listeners interact with when they’re upset. I’ve had a few that haven’t been so nice when they didn’t win a prize. I’ve been blasted on Facebook and Twitter. Some pretty mean things have been said – it was all a little weird since I was new to the industry – but you take those things in stride.

Listeners really want to connect with the person behind the microphone, so you need to be approachable and positive. And you need to put aside other stresses in your life and recognize that you’re there to make others’ day a little brighter. It’s my job to entertain and make people feel happy when they turn on the radio.