Erik Bremer and Jason Dorow before a 2013 broadcast of Northwestern volleyball.

As WNUR Sports prepared to switch leadership last spring and mix up the executive board, as we do every March, I had to ask myself one question: Why do I want to be sports director?

The answer was pretty simple: the people.

The staff at WNUR Sports is one of the hardest working and most genuine groups I’ve had the pleasure of knowing. Broadcasting Northwestern athletics is a really cool experience, but what makes it fun and memorable is the camaraderie of our broadcast crews. I enjoy just going to our weekly meetings to catch up with our staff of 30 plus.

I wanted to be sports director so I could tighten that bond at the station and help each of our staffers achieve their goals. Not everyone on our staff wants to be a play-by-play broadcaster or sports reporter, but those that do are able to attain great internships and improve their craft thanks to WNUR Sports.

For everyone at the station, no matter their career pursuits, WNUR is a place to loosen the stress of school, spend time with friends and bond over one of the things that we know best, sports.

It’s very funny how sports bring people together (and sometimes tear them apart). Last weekend I witnessed throngs of people pack themselves into a building to cheer for a bunch of guys playing football. That attendance of 110,000 at the Big House would be the third most populous city in my home state of Minnesota. And the feeling and chemistry at events like that just cannot be matched, especially when you get to experience it with a bunch of your friends from WNUR.

For this year’s Sportsathon, I’ve interviewed four WNUR Sports alumni, spanning three different decades. And there have been two overarching themes. 1. They will never forget some of the games and moments that they got to broadcast at the station. 2. They made life-lasting friendships at WNUR Sports and the time they spent together at the station was a highlight of their college life.

I’m still only a junior and have spent just over two years at WNUR Sports, but I know both of those will hold true for me. Four years ago I never thought I’d have the opportunity to call Northwestern football live on radio, or any Wildcat sport for that matter.

Now I’ve called seven different sports and a bunch of incredible contests. And I look forward to helping WNUR Sports continue to bring Wildcat fans some of the best live coverage of the sports they love.

Most importantly I know I’ve made some life-long friends at WNUR, and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of our staffers in the future.