What Unites Us We often hear compelling, and of course, humorous stories from our alumni, and we would like to share a few here (including responses in the sidebar to our question in The Wesleyan Way). We hope you enjoy, and we hope to hear from you, too, about how you feel united to KWC.
by Katherine Rutherman
Dr. Kimberly (Mayberry) Fifer '93, now assistant superintendent of the Clark-Pleasant School Corporation in Whiteland, Ind., had a dream assignment. A communication arts major, she enjoyed her disc jockey responsibilities at WKWC 90.3 FM. A morning person – yes, she insists she was, even in college - she signed on at the College radio station on Mondays and Thursdays at 6 a.m. and then was off to class after two hours on the air. One morning, 90 minutes into her on-air time, she got a call from a man she describes as a gentleman. Kimberly recalls, "He said he listened to the station every morning and wondered why we weren't on the air that day." She assured him that Panther Radio was on the air and insisted with the energy and enthusiasm of a morning person that she was 90 minutes into her show. She explained that she signed in twice a week, and her unspoken message was that she knew what she was doing. "Make sure you are on 90.3," she suggested to the caller. "Oh, I am," he responded and then suggested she go through her sign-on checklist one more time. She flipped
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the switches like she had done at 6 a.m. – almost – and discovered that the last switch was not engaged. With that one flip of the final switch, the man said, "I hear you now. You are on the air. Thank you for checking." Kimberly was flustered and embarrassed and blurted out that maybe she was not cut out for a career in broadcasting. She got a response she was not expecting. "I'm President Paul Hartman," the listener said. "Why don't you come by my office this afternoon. I would like to meet you." Kimberly says she spent the rest of the semester working in the president's office and that President Hartman and his assistant, Shirley Spalding, offered encouragement and personal attention. "I grew in self-confidence that semester, and Dr. Hartman helped me get my first job (in public relations) after graduation. They both influenced me, all because I didn't flip a switch the right way."
Kentucky Wesleyan Magazine
