Lundsey Krey

After accidentally enrolling in UVSC Professor Mike Wiseland’s intro to radio class, UVSC senior Lindsey Krey, from San Diego, Calif., discovered she was hooked on radio. Her newfound passion for the industry, coupled with mentoring from Wiseland, guided Krey to a path that would ultimately lead to a gold medal at this year’s SkillsUSA Championships.

Her interest kindled, she started her career as president of the UVSC radio club, and later joined Wiseland at KSTAR radio where she was recently promoted to production manager. She also serves as the radio intern for the Women in Technology program at UVSC, a position created specifically for her.

Her practical experience gave Krey the confidence to join the UVSC team at the SkillsUSA Championships, a multi-million dollar event held in a space the size of 11 football fields in Kansas City, Mo. With more than 4,600 contestants in 80 separate contests, SkillsUSA is a showcase for the best career and technical students in the nation. To even compete at the national level, contestants must first win at both the local and state levels. Krey was the top finisher in her category at both competitions.

“Honestly, the local contest at UVSC was probably the hardest one and the most nerve-wracking,” Krey admitted. “You never know who’s going to be there or what to expect.”

This year, Krey became the national champion in the predominantly male competition for Radio (Audio) Production for the second year running, and also one of only a handful of women from UVSC to ever be a repeat champion at the national level.

In addition to SkillsUSA, Krey was also part of the UVSC team that took home a Student Grammy from the Audio Engineering Society (the only professional society devoted exclusively to audio technology) competition in New York City last November.

"The judges from Sony kept telling us over and over how impressed they were,” Krey explained. “They couldn’t believe that college students were producing work with such high quality.”

After graduation next spring, Krey hopes to maintain her work with radio. For now, she is enjoying her position as gold medalist and continues to learn the art of perfecting her craft from faculty mentors.

"I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have the professors I did,” she said.