At ESPN in Connecticut

[ We invited Bethany graduates in Communication and Media Arts to report what they were up to, and respond to some questions about how they have used what they learned at Bethany and since. Please feel free to greet, ask questions, and comment. ]

When did you graduate from Bethany, what was your major, and in what, if anything, did you specialize while in school?

I graduated from Bethany in 2011 as a double major in Music and Communication, with emphasis on both. In Music my emphasis is Theory and Composition, and my official emphasis in Communication is listed as TV and Film Audio. During my time at Bethany I participated in many extracurriculars, including Band, Jazz Band, Choir, Drumline, Hockey Broadcasting and Closed Circuit TV Show Production, Red Eye 48 Hour Film Festivals, Luthapalooza and probably more things I am forgetting at the moment. I took advantage of all four years to learn and do as much as humanly possible.

What are you doing now with media/technology?

I work at ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut. My job title is Senior Audio Operator working with the Remote Integration (REMI) Operations group. I work exclusively on games for the ESPN/ABC family of networks, mixing audio and managing intercom communication for events such as NBA, MLB, NHL, College Football, College Basketball, and many others. The REMI component means that instead of traveling everyone all over the country to work on games, we send a smaller crew to site and pipe the signals back to our headquarters, where the control room staff puts it together by cutting cameras, mixing audio, and adding replays and graphics. What began as a cost cutting measure for smaller market games quickly became the only viable option for broadcast in the wake of COVID, and today every level of game production has a REMI component, including Monday Night Football. It is also my responsibility to train, teach, and mentor new operators, and my role has expanded to help manage other technical areas and to test emerging technologies, some of which I cannot talk about yet, but needless to say: there are some really innovative solutions being developed in broadcast and I am proud to be on the cutting edge.

Do you have any goals or aspirations beyond what you are doing now?

I very much enjoy what I do currently. This question would have been an interesting one about 5 years ago, because what I do now didn't fully exist the way it does in its current form today. I imagine five years from now, my role will adapt and change further, and in ways that I cannot predict at this time. That's the fun part — seeing trends and adapting the business model to meet those trends, and adapting yourself to the situation and continuing to learn and grow.

Have you found any opportunities to use your skills and experience for Gospel outreach?

I also serve as Director of Evangelism for my church, Messiah Ev. Lutheran Church in South Windsor, Connecticut (WELS). Like many churches during COVID, we adapted a livestream component to our worship services, which I became responsible for deploying out of necessity. At the beginning, the livestream was solely focused on serving our members and shut-ins, but today much less than half of our online audience is comprised of members. The majority are made up individuals who have found us, either locally, all over the country, or even the world. It has become a powerful outreach tool to people who may not be able to find a home church near them that teaches the Gospel, and we are serving people we may never meet in person but have a need for God's word in their lives.

Have you encountered any difficulty or hostility in your profession because you are a Christian?

In my experiences I have not encountered any hostility of any kind. It is sometimes difficult, however, when you see some practices in your profession in contradiction to God's Law. Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Mark to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself. I wear my faith on my sleeve and my coworkers respect it, and in return I show them love and respect even if we disagree on matters of faith. I consider myself very blessed that my biggest difficulty encountered is usually working on Sundays — as I write this, this past Sunday I missed coffee hour because I had crew call for Diamondbacks vs. Astros — but I would not characterize myself as any more or less persecuted for my faith than the average Christian living in America.