GABRIELLE FLETCHER
Special to The Leader

This week “A Day in the Life” is looking into sophomore Maggie Oliver’s life in Fredonia. Maggie has a duel major in audio/radio production and TV/digital film with a minor in film studies. She also keeps busy working with many groups on campus such as Sound Services, co-producing Late Nite Fredonia on WNYF, participating with Fredonia Radio Services and helping out with The Leader as an Assistant Layout Editor.

Gabrielle Fletcher: Describe your major .
Maggie Oliver: I’m a communications major; I’m in audio radio production as well as TV digital film. So it’s a lot of mixed media and learning how to work in any type of situation. It’s a really big thing today for media convergence, so it’s basically a whole lot of everything rolled into one.

GF: Why did you pick this major? Do you have high hopes for being successful in this line of work after college?
MO: Well, originally I actually decided I wanted to be a talk show host because I never shut up. That’s why I picked audio and video production, because I thought it would be a good job for me because I’m not really good at anything else and this is something I could make a living off of. Since being here and actually getting involved in things like that I decided to broaden my horizons a little bit and I do have very high hopes for getting a job when I leave, because I’m working to making myself really employable. By having a double major I get much more experience than if I was just an audio/radio major or just a TV digital film major. Additionally I have taken some journalism classes and work for The Leader, so I have more experience and a lot more by the time I get out of here. I basically decided to get involved with a bunch of different things just because I am interested in all of them, and there’s no reason I shouldn’t take advantage of everything that’s right in front of you when you are at school.

GF: Being involved with a lot of campus groups and also a double major must take up most of your time. When do you find time for yourself?
MO: Well I don’t have that much time to myself; it’s usually in the early mornings or something like that when I can make free time. A lot of the reason I don’t have free time is because I feel like it’s really really important to get involved with extracurricular activities and be on top of my classes. I am involved in a bunch of different things. Honestly I would love to not technically have time to myself; it’s all things I enjoy so it’s really worth it.

GF: So explain a little bit more with what you do with The Leader? Is it worth being part of The Leader?
MO: I would definitely say yes. I am Assistant Layout Editor for The Leader, I am one of two. We work under Amanda Kiesl, she is the layout editor and she basically teaches us how to make the paper look good. We get everything and we have to put it in and make it fit. If something isn’t working out we kind of have to take a new approach to it; there’s a lot of pictures and articles and it kind of seems very cut and dry, but there can be a creative side to it and a new approach. That’s what we work on. Every week we just kind of make The Leader something interesting that people want to read.

GF: What kind of classes do you take?
MO: I am in Audio Production 2 right now and that class is based on producing segments for radio. I have a segment airing every week on High Noon Friday, that’s what our class does. Additionally, like I said, I take some journalism classes. I am in news gathering right now and it’s just more experience with writing, working on fine tuning and paying attention to details. I’m also a film studies minor so I am in Drama and Film and Intro to Film and that’s just another way to looking at everything, to analyze things, to become more comfortable with different fields and stuff like that. I am also in musics of the world, that’s just a CCC and it’s interesting. As I said before I think it’s really important to be able to take advantage of all you are offered.