Two booming voices embody the broadcasting major experience for students at Goshen College: the voices of Paul Condry, president and founder of Regional Radio Sports Network (RRSN) and Jason Samuel, assistant professor of communication. 

RRSN, a broadcasting company based in Mishawaka, Indiana, provides coverage of student athletic events throughout Northern Indiana, including Crossroads League events, and their connection with Goshen College goes beyond the playing field. 

GC’s very own radio station, 91.1 The Globe, is one of the places one can tune in to RRSN, with their weekly sports show, “The Coaches Box,” on Thursdays from 6-7 p.m. and Penn High School football broadcasts on Friday nights since 2004.

Over the years, an amicable relationship between the network and GC’s communication department has developed, including internship opportunities since 2008.

Samuel himself worked with Condry after graduating from Goshen College in 1993. Now the Globe’s general manager, Samuel provides a valuable link to RRSN for students interested in interning with Condry, who is set to be inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.

“For the last decade, we’ve been able to send our students, the best and the brightest, over there to work with him,” Samuel said.

Becoming an RRSN intern requires a strong work ethic, and Condry is determined to give students an experience that will prepare them for a broadcasting career after graduation. 

“My role is to prepare the student for what is going on in the real world,” he said. “I expect them to work as hard as I do. If they think this is a free ride, it is not. In the real world, it’s not a free ride.”

That hard work does pay off, though, and RRSN interns from Goshen College have gone on to have successful careers in broadcasting after graduation thanks to their time

Dalton Shetler ‘16 graduate, works at Michigan State University for the Spartan Sports Network. Benjamin Kelly, ‘13, is the play-by-play announcer for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals as well as working for the SEC Network. And Laura Hoover, ‘18, continues her role as the play-by-play voice of the Gary SouthShore RailCats. 

“Many of them have become lifelong friends,” Condry said. “I like to call them ‘forever teammates.’ Most of them know I am their biggest fan and their harshest critic. I feel blessed to be able to help others in defining their skill sets.”

As interns work with Condry and the RRSN team, they are also able to do some of the teaching, particularly when it comes to the newest technology. The radio industry is constantly evolving as new technologies come into play. 

When he first entered the field in the 1980s, Condry used cassette tapes and reel-to-reel recording devices, and the devices and techniques have been evolving constantly since then. 

“It’s exciting to hear about new and exciting technology they are working with,” Condry said. “For me, it’s a ‘preview of coming attractions’ as they say.”

Currently, Zack Begly, a senior broadcasting major, is interning at RRSN. Though he has only been there for six weeks, he’s already been involved in a wide range of projects. 

“I’ve done lots of football and volleyball game prep, been on their weekly sports show, “The Coaches Box,” helped broadcast high school football games and worked on their magazine, “The Indiana Football Digest,” which is the largest [high school football] magazine in the country,” Begly said. 

Begly was first made aware of this opportunity through his peers in the communication department: Hoover and Tanner Camp, ’19, who both interned at RRSN. 

“It’s [RSSN] is a great example of convergent media and storytelling on multiple platforms,” Samuel said. “We’ve established the quality, the legacy of excellence in communication that helps get students in the door.”