No Humbug for Communications Students at Recording of 'A Christmas Carol'

Students in Gilmarie Vongphakdy’s Introduction to Mass Communication course got a hands on experience they will likely never forget, when they recorded a performance of Charles Dickens famous,  “A Christmas Carol” for Worcester’s Audio Journal on December 12.

Audio Journal Inc. is a nonprofit agency that provides audio access for information, culture and opportunities for the sight impaired in the Worcester region.

According to Ms. Vongphakdy, the eight students in her class had the opportunity to do the recording as their final project or they could choose to do a research paper. All but one chose to do the recording.

“The students learned what it takes to produce a radio program. They trained on all the equipment," she said. 

Ms. Vongphakdy said this is the first time she has done this type hands-on class, and thanks radio personality Hank Stolz who connected Ms. Vongphakdy with Audio Journal’s Executive Director, Mary Frandsen. In prior classes, she has taken the students to tour the Worcester radio station Mr. Stolz is affiliated with; however, this time she decided to try something different.

“This was a win-win for both agencies,” Ms. Vongphakdy said, adding the station’s close proximity to QCC was helpful.

The students spent time at the station rehearsing the script prior to the final recording. They had to cut the script down from an hour long to 47 minutes, in order to fit the alloted timeframe. On December 12 at 7:00 p.m. they students did a run through, before doing the final recording at 8:00 p.m.

“It went really well,” Ms. Vongphakdy added.

The show will air on AM 830 WCRN on December 24 and December 25 at 9:00 a.m., noon and 7:00 p.m.