Cedarville Magazine interviewed Leightenheimer about Resound’s history, its future, and how God is using it in the lives of students and others. CM: How did Resound Radio get its start? What was the motivation behind it? JL: Student radio started as an independent study when I was a Cedarville College broadcasting student in the late 1970s. My professor (Wes Baker, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Communication) assigned the project of conducting a feasibility study of a student radio station on Cedarville’s campus. The desire was motivated by the need for students, at all academic levels, to be able to apply the knowledge and to practice the skills that they were gaining in classes. When I was hired as a faculty member in 1982, I was charged with working to bring the station into being. The result is what we now call Resound Radio. CM: What need does the station fill on campus? JL: Resound provides practical experience for students enrolled in the broadcasting and digital media major and for students from many other majors to practice the skills of communication. The station functions with the mission of training Christians to serve Christ in the media while serving students, faculty, and staff with programming designed to build them up in the spirit of Ephesians 4:29, our station verse. CM: How has Resound evolved over the years? JL: We started with a few students working with the faculty advisor (me) and have developed to the point where we have a pool of alumni — all experienced on-air professionals — who have also generously built into students’ professional lives as volunteer mentors/coaches. CM: How has Resound kept up with changes in the industry? JL: We have adapted our methods of delivering the signal to the listener based on developments in technology and changes in how and where people listen. We’ve moved from AM to FM, FM to streaming, and have developed apps (see chronology). We have been blessed by a supportive administration that has made studio technology upgrades to hardware and software that allow us to have state-of-the-art facilities. We also provide the audience with the type of programming that research indicates they desire. An example is the development this year of the “1,000 Days” podcast available at resoundradio.com. Radio MAJOR: BROADCASTING, DIGITAL MEDIA, AND JOURNALISM Cedarville Magazine | 15
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