Branford Marsalis Parker hosting a radio show at WUVI AM 1090 on the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands.
Branford Marsalis Parker came to the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) as an exchange student from Chicago with the intention of building his photography and videography portfolio. He ended up being the main recruiter for students in the University’s Communications area and WUVI student radio station.
When he originally moved into the dorms on UVI’s St. Thomas campus, Branford’s initial personal goal was to work on his mission of building his own digital media resume. Instead, when his website class got cancelled, he ended up enrolling into a radio production class. Not really being interested in broadcast journalism, Branford found himself redefining his purpose and recreating his mission. He would use his new personal connections with the Communications students and radio club to give himself more practice with his craft.
His motivation quickly increased while merging efforts with Michael “DJ Temp” McFarlane, who Parker credits for getting him involved with the radio station and Communications program. As time passed, he forced himself to be more social and started speaking to people that he normally would normally not have approached, with his common random question, “Do you wanna join the media club?”
Soon, he became the President of the WUVI 4-H Collegiate Media Club, recruiting students into the media club, radio station backup crew and Communications Department at every given opportunity. He was then offered the position as the WUVI Student Radio Station Production Manager. Combining his new responsibilities, he saw opportunities unfold not only for himself, but for fellow classmates, non-communications major students in the club as well as collectively as a student radio station.
Parker was largely responsible for organizing, hosting or assisting with on campus social events that helped to make the student population more aware and supportive of the Media club and radio station. His largest organizational accomplishment, and quite possibly the most well attended student event for the semester, was having a standing room only event called ‘Wildin’ Out‘.
As Production Manager, Parker’s responsibilities included editing and finalizing all radio audio prior to airing, assisting with social media posting. He created commercials, promos and edited shows for uploading to the WUVI SoundCloud digital archive site.
As if being the on call photographer, videographer and President of the club, adding audio editing seemed to round off all of the digital media work he had originally hoped to build on. His mission redefined, Branford Marsalis Parker unknowingly worked himself into being the MVP of the University of the Virgin Island’s WUVI Student Radio Station.
