Do you have a story about you and CKUA that you’d like to share with us? Please let us know by sending us an email! We’d love to feature it! What do such stories look like? Well, here’s one by our beloved announcer, Amy van Keeken!
When I moved to Alberta in the mid-eighties with my family, I was pleasantly surprised to find this cool radio station on the dial of my double cassette player AM/FM radio.
I remember taping episodes of the Athabasca University music courses [when they aired on] CKUA. I tuned in to The Celtic Show each week and felt like I was part of a community.
Later, listening in my first basement suite, I sobbed as I heard the last broadcast before CKUA went off the air. I was [motivated] to help and borrowed my parents’ car, drove across the city and become a CKUA volunteer.
As a musician, I did interviews and performed live on CKUA. Hearing my music played on the station was (and still is!) a major thrill. I became a radio host at campus-based community station CJSR and fell in love with broadcasting.
With my friend Thea, I co-hosted Twang n Thangs for many years and learned so much about how to make good radio. In 2015 I was asked to submit a demo to CKUA and it was accepted; I started filling in for Sarah Hoyles on The Takeaway. Soon, I started filling in on other programs.
A few years later I was filling in regularly for Monica Miller. What a huge honour! Monica was so supportive and kind, I still cherish each conversation we had about radio, broadcasting, and life. I have felt the support and gentle guidance from so many colleagues, listeners, and friends at CKUA.
Fast forward to October 2019 when I debuted my own program, Far Out. What a dream! I have returned to the city of my birth, Vancouver, and am living just blocks away from where my mother grew up. CKUA keeps me connected to my Alberta family and I am honoured and grateful to be a part of the family of listeners, artists and broadcasters.
Thanks again for telling us this inspiring and personal story about you and CKUA, Amy!