WNUR Sports staffer Ari Ross explains the impact WNUR Sports has had on his college experience as part of WNUR’s Sportsathon. If you would like to contribute, click here and follow the instructions.

The Outback Bowl. Spartan Stadium. The Horseshoe. The Bryce-Jordan Center. Kinnick Stadium. Memorial Stadium.

That short list are just some of the many different places I’ve been able to go and broadcast games with WNUR Sports.

Coming to Evanston freshman year, I had no idea what I wanted to do, or what activities I wanted to participate in. But when I attended the first WNUR Sports meeting of Fall Quarter, I immediately felt at home.

Meetings became a regular part of my schedule and one of my favorite times of the week. I didn’t care that they sometimes lasted an hour, I was surrounded by an incredible group of people who all wanted to do the same thing – broadcast sports.

I quickly got involved, co-hosting talk shows, engineering broadcasts and eventually calling games as well. Just being there was so much fun, but being part of the broadcast crew? Even better.

I’ve had so many incredible experiences through WNUR Sports that I couldn’t have had anywhere else. So many pop to mind, from being on the sidelines at Ohio Stadium to calling Northwestern’s 54-40 win over Michigan State at Spartan Stadium.

I grew up watching the Spartans and Buckeyes – my dad’s a Michigan State alum and I grew up in Ohio – and to broadcast a game from both of those stadiums was incredible.

I’ve certainly become a better broadcaster through WNUR Sports, landing a summer broadcasting internship in the Northwoods League this past summer, but WNUR Sports has provided me with more than just opportunities and the experience to become a better broadcaster.

Through WNUR Sports, I’ve made lifelong friends. Some of, if not most, of my best friends are in WNUR Sports. Still to this day, meetings are some of the most enjoyable times of the week. I currently live off-campus with three WNUR Sports staffers.

To say WNUR has been an important part of my college experience would be an understatement. WNUR Sports has made my college experience, and I hope it can do the same for those who come after me, those freshman who are sitting in the same chairs I sat in three years ago, salivating over the potential opportunities in front of them.

But to continue to provide these incredible experiences and opportunities, we need your help. And that’s why I encourage you to donate to WNUR’s Sportsathon, because generous donations from listeners and readers like you help keep our station running, current and allow us to continue to put together some of the best broadcasts in the nation.

Thank you in advance for your support and Go ‘Cats,

Ari Ross

Ari Ross is a senior from Cleveland, OH and is WNUR’s current Web Editor-in-Chief. To find out more about how you can donate to Sportsathon 2016, click HERE