In the pressure cooker: my chest is tight, my ears hot, and my mouth is turning dry. I didn't think my interview would include being live on air. With the mic pressed against my lips, I began, “Hello... I’m Evan, hopefully, a soon-to-be intern here at Daybreak Star Radio.”
“So, Evan, tell the audience a little about yourself,” the host said.
“Well, I’ve, uh, always been interested in research, people, and I've coded ever since I was a kid and could help with automation... I also 'uh' wrote for the newspaper freshman year and had some articles published."
“Well, what interests you in this position?”
“I produce and have made music ever since I was a kid. But most importantly here as an intern, is my opportunity to learn.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, we could use more skills like those here. Okay, now to all of you out there, if there's a song you want to request or want to tell us what you think, you can hit us up by tapping that mic.”
Shaken, I left the sound room wondering if what I offered during the conversation was good enough.
It was two months later when shopping in Home Depot, I got a call from the director offering me a position as an intern.
I poured my heart into writing scripts for shows, researching musicians, and completing tasks that my production manager gave me. In between classes, hunched over my laptop, I researched all I could about different Native artists. I found and wrote bios before I went to work. Without fail, my nervousness took over when I walked into the studio. One mistake when recording sometimes spiraled into more.
After six months I met with the art curator and director of the Sacred Circle Art Gallery and expanded my research from music to all art forms. I experienced the visions of leaders in my community and the wealth of culture and innovation despite the challenges faced. The biggest change was not my job title, from ‘intern’ to ‘production assistant’, but it was my purpose, the perspective of what I was doing.
I went from writing scripts to reading them and making three weekly shows. I didn’t focus on improving my script-writing skills, but I focused on connecting musicians to venues in Seattle and writing scripts to promote them. I was able to promote businesses that were hosting youth internships and connect jobs to employers through a network of events. I was so self-conscious about my skills and performance until I saw how powerful my skills could be in my community if I just asked the right questions and listened. Over time, I no longer needed to be supervised with a detailed list of questions and tasks, and instead sat in meetings and discussed what we could do to further this non-profit organization. I had learned a lot about researching, writing shows, and event work; but none of my skills were as important as the process of learning to use them for a purpose.
Computer science and finance have always been interests of mine, but I’ve always felt the need to find a path that expresses myself and my community's voice. With a mom who’s a social worker, you discuss generational trauma and wealth structures. By promoting opportunity in the financial systems we have today and acting as a connector between financial resources and families: I aspire to follow the path of native leaders and use my knowledge to illuminate systems and support the wealth of my community.
Eventually, the heart and self-consciousness of public speaking dissolved as I found my place and purpose, grounded in my rich culture.
“This is Ev, and I hope you had a great time listening to the Daybreak Star Radio Network, the only radio station Indigenizing the Airwaves. Don’t forget to download the app and tap that mic.”
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