Colorado Mesa University’s campus radio station, KMSA 91.3, is seeing a change this spring: a new advisor. With former advisor Jim Davis stepping down, the radio has selected Ryan Gruwell, a CMU alumnus, as the organization’s new mentor.
“I am happy to be back at my alma mater, giving back a little bit to the place I spent a good portion of my life,” Gruwell said.
Originally from Denver, Colo., Gruwell graduated from CMU in 2004 in mass communication. During his time as a student, he worked at KMSA, which sparked his career in broadcasting.
“Working at KMSA is where my love of radio really began,” Gruwell said.
Shortly after graduating, Gruwell got a job as a radio host at MBC Grand Broadcasting, owner of eight of the Grand Valley’s radio stations. He has worked there since and has hosted many different shows, primarily for Magic 93.1.
“Being in small market radio means you have to wear many different hats, which have given me a lot of opportunities. I have done work in commercial production, copyrighting, developing websites and the whole process of producing commercials,” Gruwell said.
Since graduating, Gruwell has also created his own DJ business, DJ Ryan Griz Entertainment, which has developed into a large-scale production, focusing primarily on weddings in Western Colorado to Vail area. Gruwell plans to bring his skills and experiences as an entrepreneur to better help the KMSA students increase the radio’s popularity across campus.
“I think a lot of people probably don’t know that KMSA exists,” Gruwell said. “I consider myself to have a business mindset and I am excited to help the students with [increasing the radio’s promotion]. Really amp up the awareness.”
In response to how he hopes to achieve this, Gruwell said, “Ask me in a month…perhaps continued increase in promotion and the website.”
KMSA staff are excited to have Gruwell on board the station as well.
“I believe Ryan is a great addition to KMSA, being an alumni and former member of the station; he definitely brings passion into his role. The part I look forward to most is just learning from his role as a professional in the broadcast field,” said Richard Nguyen, KMSA sports director.
Like many others in Student Life, Gruwell hopes to see an increase in student participation.
“I would love to see an increase in involvement perhaps through more DJs. If you’ve ever thought about joining, come check us out… Like Wayne Gretzky says, ‘You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take’!” Gruwell said.
