Board Blog: Kids These Days

Last Updated on March 8, 2018 by askcbiorg

I live and work in the New York market, where we just had two major “nor’easters” in less than a week.  The first one was a rain and wind event, which downed trees, knocked out power, and caused flooding.

Mark Maben, CBI Development Director

A few days later, the second storm dropped a foot of heavy wet snow on our campus and much more just a few miles to our north.  This nor’easter wreaked additional havoc across northern New Jersey and the lower Hudson Valley — trees down, power out, traffic at a standstill, schools and businesses closed for two days.  With my children all out of the house, it was left to me to shovel the heavy wet snow.

Now, I write this not seeking sympathy, after all it does snow in winter.  Rather, I want to illustrate what these storms say about my students, members of the much maligned millennial and “Z” generations.

The first storm started on Friday, right as Seton Hall University’s spring break was beginning.  Most students were already gone, or heading out the door. But the staff of WSOU did what they always do during a storm — they stepped up to serve the community.

For Wednesday’s storm, they did the same thing.  Knowing that this one was likely to make travel to and from the station impossible (which it did), they planned ahead.

A core team of students hunkered down at the station, ready to work in rotating shifts to bring news, traffic, and weather reports to our listeners, along with the heavy metal music they crave.  Through the years we have discovered that snowplow drivers, first responders, and utility workers are often rocking out to WSOU during the height of a storm. My students feel great about taking and playing their requests. And it didn’t matter to them at all that is was spring break.  Nobody whined about having to be on the air during vacation or in the midst of a major storm. To them, this is simply the job that we do.

Like me, you’ve probably heard people complain about the work ethic of millennials and Gen-Z. When it comes to the students who work (for free) at my station, my experience has been the opposite. These kids are industrious, creative, flexible, resourceful, dedicated, and hard-working.  They also work well in teams and are kind to one another.  It is a different vibe from when I went to college. As a baby boomer, what I witness now on a daily basis gives me confidence that, if given the opportunity, millennials and Gen-Z will successfully address many of the challenges facing humankind in the 21st century.

There are plenty of student-run electronic media outlets across the country that are just like WSOU in terms of their commitment to serve and the character of the students involved.  What is so wonderful about student media is that it really is experiential-learning in action. Students discover what they are capable of and develop the confidence to do even more. Working at a place like WSOU makes a difference in their lives, and the lives of others. When it comes the world of CBI, today’s students are showing us that the kids are alright.