Communiqué
Love led Pam Wagar to WOUB
< < Back toWagar graduated from Ohio University in 1972 and 1975
ATHENS, OH – Pam Wagar’s WOUB story is not typical. While many Ohio University students who work at the radio and television station say that they fell in love with the place, Wagar was already in love with her husband, who was heavily involved at WOUB. So, in order to be able to spend time with him, she decided to follow the old adage, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”
“I was a zoology major,” said Wagar. “I got my undergraduate degree and then started working on my master’s degree in 1974. My husband, Rick, was working on his undergraduate in 1974. After he had been trained in a number of positions, he was working at the TV station so many nights that I didn’t see him very much. I got a job in town while Rick was finishing his degree, and I eventually asked WOUB if I could volunteer, too. I found out that I had to be a student, so I took one course each term and started training on all of the different broadcast production positions at WOUB.”
Wagar enjoyed her time at WOUB and picked up valuable skills she was able to use in her life and career.
“After he graduated, Rick got a job at a TV station in Memphis. They needed somebody to do voiceovers for public service announcements and promos, so I helped out. I even ended up doing some voiceovers for commercials,” said Wagar. “Then another time, on New Year’s Eve 1999 when everyone was afraid of Y2K, Rick was working in Cincinnati and the TV station was down a person. So, I ran camera for WKRC news. My training at WOUB put me in good stead, and I was able to run camera without any problems. Of course, it had been a while, so I had to practice my zooms and pans a little before the news started.”
Wagar’s professional career included positions in property management and accounting. She eventually got her MBA and MPA at Northern Kentucky University. At one point, she worked at Northern Kentucky as the director of budget and operations in the College of Informatics, which housed the media and communication program.
“I could use my background from WOUB when the professors talked about the needs for the program,” said Wagar. “I understood what they were talking about.”
Even though Wagar never worked in media on a full-time basis, she says her time at WOUB is something that she treasures.
“I’ve always been a little shy and introverted. Working in television and having to learn all of these different positions and work directly with people to help solve problems, coordinate, and organize brought me out of my shell a little bit,” said Wagar. “Working with diverse populations, doing so many different things helped me relate to a lot of different kinds of people, and that has followed through all of my different jobs.”
Read Rick Wagar’s WOUB story here.