Joey Guidi
Outstanding Student
Joey Guidi

Quick Facts:

Grad Year: 2019
Hometown: Jackson, California
Activities: Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity member; Interfraternity Council vice president for public relations; freshman orientation leader; Christmas to Remember Foundation volunteer

When Joey Guidi '19 isn't juggling four classes, he's spending dozens of hours each week as the operations manager and engineer in charge of Pacific's internet radio station, TigerRadio.net. The communication major knows exactly what he wants to do once he graduates: take over his family's radio station in Jackson where he began reading public service announcements on-air when he was just 5. He also wants to expand the business by establishing affiliates in other markets that also focus on local news.

  Q: Why did you choose Pacific?

A: Pacific for me was always ingrained in my life. I'm a quintuple legacy - three cousins, an uncle and my grandfather all graduated from here. So there's that, and Pacific is also an hour from home. It was close enough to be close but far enough away to be far away. I'm not worried about my mom raiding my dorm room and making sure I'm a good boy ─ at least when I was a freshman that's what I thought. It was a big step of independence moving down here.  

Q: Who has inspired you at Pacific?

A: (Communication professor) Graham Carpenter. He's been so helpful, and he's really pushed me to be a better communication student and person in my field. He's always challenged me, but I've never felt pressured. He's trying to help me out, pushing me in class to put out the best that I possibly can. I had a writing class with him and in that class he pushed me to write better than I'd written before. One time I turned something in and he told me that I could do better. The fact that he said that was a big wake-up call to me. I ended up getting an A on it. In another instance, I was in a production class of his and he really pushed me to try new things and expand my horizons. I've always been centered on radio and he really opened my eyes to video production and other media outlets ... more tools that I could use for my future.  

Q: What are your plans after graduation?

A I want to go back and take over for my dad and give him a day off ─ he's been working non-stop since I was a little kid ─ and then keep working at the station as a 22-year-old CEO. It's a business ─ Mother Lode Broadcasting Incorporated. I hope to take over and expand the business right after graduation. I've got big goals. I really do.  

Q: Describe a hands-on learning opportunity you received at Pacific.

A: Working at the (campus radio) station is super hands-on because you have to record, you have to set the automation, you have to do everything that you would do at a real radio station ─ set the levels on your microphone. There's the newswriting aspect, the editing aspect and for me, there's the management aspect. I assist students with their podcast shows. I manage the day-to-day operations. I keep track of the schedule of shows that we have coming up, help locate new music, new artists, for one of our shows. I run the board ─ I can turn the music up and down and turn microphones on and off. It's literally the best hands-on opportunity I could have ever had at any institution. A lot of places have a campus radio station, but a lot of them are run by professors or professional station managers whereas (Pacific Tiger Broadcasting) gives me and the other students the opportunity to do this managing. We're the ones pushing the agenda. We're the ones in charge.   

Q: What advice would you give an incoming student who wants to major in communication?

A: Raise your hand in class ... and don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to not know - just ask. 'It's going to be okaaaay.' Every single freshman I talk to, that's the one thing I say. You're going to stress out about something at some point, but just keep doing your work, talk to whoever you need to. You will make it through.