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10 Questions with ... Taylor Hohulin
November 8, 2021
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1. Please tell us about your career journey?
I got my start as a student employee at KLRC in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. The team there was gracious enough to let me try my hand at a ton of different things and get the experience and mentorship that set me up well after I graduated from John Brown University. My first full-time gig was at KVRK Power FM in Dallas. I hosted afternoons first, and then moved to mornings after a couple years. It was the station I listened to growing up, so it was a really special time for me. Power FM ended up needing to be sold, and after that happened, the position here in Des Moines opened up. We traded Big Tex for Iowa’s Butter Cow, and have really enjoyed this chapter. I’ve been here 5 years, and it is truly a wonderful group of people to work with.
2. Share a moment in your career that you’ll always remember.
Ending up in Des Moines was a total God story. With the sale of Power FM, I was out of work. That’s hard enough, but when your wife is applying to medical schools, things get even trickier. We had no idea where she would end up, so I couldn’t just apply for any job opening. I was beginning to wonder if I’d have to take a break from radio until she finished her education. But then I found the job opening at Life 107.1, and the day after I finished applying, I got a call that Lindsey was accepted to Des Moines University. After that, it was a crazy series of coincidences that couldn’t be coincidences. It’s become one of those stories I look back on to remind myself of God’s ability to provide.
3. The best advice you've ever received was…
Ask “what’s she hearing?” Dave St. John was my first manager at Life 107.1, and he was fond of bringing that up any time we got bogged down in how to handle a promotion, a clock tweak, or anything else like that. Sometimes, just stepping back and separating yourself from all the invisible processes and internal “rules” makes decisions a million times easier.
4. How do you continue learning and growing?
Life 107.1 is part of Northwestern Media, which has a wonderful culture that values continued growth. I have so much respect for all my fellow PD’s in the network, and enjoy the conversations we have throughout the week as we bounce ideas off each other and talk through how we’ve all handled individual challenges.
5. What’s one thing you wish you’d known about radio when you first started?
Every station is different, from the things the audience responds to, to the things prioritized within the building, to simple terminology. You can’t show up at a station you’re not familiar with and evaluate it by a set of standards created for somewhere else.
6. Tell us about someone who you really respect and why?
My father. Everywhere he’s worked, I’ve seen him do his job with excellence and integrity. And then I’ve seen him come home from work and be fully present with us as a family and love all of us well. It’s rare to see all of those qualities in one person, but I had a front row seat to it every day growing up.
7. What’s something about you that would surprise people?
There are two things I’ve made a point to collect the complete set: Electric Light Orchestra’s pre-ELO Part II studio albums, and the illustrated editions of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
8. What’s on your nightstand?
I’ve been trying to read one fiction book and one nonfiction book at a time, so currently my Kindle is on the nightstand, loaded with The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher and The Sermon on the Mount and Human Fluorishing by Jonathan T Pennington.
9. Finish this sentence: My day doesn’t start properly before I ___________________________.
Brush my teeth. For real. Hosting a morning show, I’ve learned just how many things I can cut out of the morning routine to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep. I don’t even drink coffee until I’ve pulled into work. For some reason, though, brushing my teeth has become non-negotiable. If I skip it, I feel like I’m in a weird morning limbo.
10. What do you to unwind and chill?
Since I spend my day sitting in front of computers, I really enjoy going to the gym. I find sweat and dumbbells very cathartic. I also write and self-publish sci-fi novels.
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