YO who’s ready for another sick ass testimonial, courtesy of the MPS blog. My name is Dylan Mangan and I’ve been blessed with the privilege of being the Deputy Station Manager this year, read the following glorified rant about my experience and love of all things radio below.

As your Deputy Station Manager, I have ensured the day to day maintenance of DCUfm this year, as well as being a vital team player for MPS in all its forms. I’ve also worked closely with Cathal O’Dork on making sure that the content we produce is of the highest possible standard we could make it, and we have been immensely proud of the results we’ve seen this year.

My time on the MPS Committee this year has been full of ups and downs, but ultimately, I am immensely proud of what myself and Cathal have managed to bring to FM this year and look forward to seeing what our successors will add to what we’ve done.

I remember way back at the end of first year, standing up and running for FM and telling everyone in that room that I was “fully aware that being an FM Manager means having your every waking moment taken up by radio, but that’s exactly what I want.” If I knew that then, then I know it more than ever right now. I can’t even begin to guess how many hours I’ve put into the running of the station this year.

Building it and putting it together in September, the endless timetabling that goes into it, the workshops I’ve given, the time spent listening to the content our fantastic members put out, meeting with our sub-committee, running events, spending hours on the phone to tech support trying to figure out why our lovely little station just didn’t want to work, and still somehow finding time to maintain a social life, work three jobs, be a contributing committee member to two societies, and get a degree really did mean I had to forget about the very notion of “free time”. However, I can soundly say I would not have had it any other way.

This obsession of mine with radio is a new one for me. I came to college in first year thinking I was going to go on from this degree and pursue a career in film or television (I promise you I’m not joking - I made films for 4 years before coming to college [and no you can’t see them]). If you could’ve told me at the start of my first year that by the start of my second I’d be working in a radio station, never mind managing a second one, I just simply wouldn’t have believed you.

As my first year went on, however, that changed. I signed up for an Assigned Show in Semester One (yup Finglas FM), and absolutely adored it. I loved the freedom of it. It felt so pure and raw like I could play whatever I wanted, talk about whatever I wanted, be free to express myself creatively without limitations that may be brought on like a medium such as film. The buzz of being on air grabbed hold of me, and I looked for other ways to get myself back in that hot seat.

I jumped on the flagship sports show “Action Replay” and used it as an opportunity to get more comfortable talking on air (despite not actually knowing a whole lot about sport). I waited until I saw free slots appear in the Crew Page and dragged my friends up just to get into the studio and get that on-air buzz back. I became obsessed and it was that obsession that fuelled my drive, that drive that fuelled my confidence, that confidence that fuelled my ability, and that ability that got me into my committee role this year.

Seeing my obsession for being able to express yourself creatively through radio content trickle down into the incoming first years this year will always remain one of my proudest achievements. No matter what I go on to do, whether I’m successful or not, I’ll always hold on to that. Knowing that I made an impact on some people this year (hopefully a positive one) will stick with me forever.

If you’re reading this, and you’re interested in running for FM next year, but find yourself scared or intimidated for one reason or another, don’t be. I was scared too when I ran, but I did it anyway and it’s the best decision I ever made. A very drunk but very wise friend once told me “You’ll never look back at the end of your time in college and be ashamed because you tried too hard”, and I’ve taken it to heart ever since. If you’re still unsure, I’m only a Facebook message away, I’m sure I can convince you! MPS has given me some of my fondest memories, some of my best friends, and some of my proudest achievements, and I know I’ll be grateful for that for years to come.

Yours sincerely,
Dylan “Did you know I’m on RTE now?” Mangan