Seymour FM is upgrading its headquarters with the help of some Broadford Secondary College students. The students are being guided by their teacher, Seymour FM football caller Greg Sharp, to construct the new space.
Located on the eastern side of Chittick Park on Pollard St, the new space will be more centrally located than the current studio near Kings Park. The upgrade includes three larger studios, all acoustically sound-proofed.
There is also a communal area and kitchen, making it a place of connection off-air as well. Station leaders hope it will become a community hub, engaging a broader spectrum of community members.
Seymour FM host Roger Lawrence believes the relocation will allow the station to attract a new following in the community.
“It will be a more attractive place to be,” he said.
Building the new station gives the students hands-on experience for the certificate II in building and construction they are enrolled in at Broadford Secondary.
Year 11 student Alice Taylor said that upon hearing it was a difficult course to get in to she wanted to give it a try. She is eager to take the skills she has learnt and apply them to the job she has lined up at a station in the Northern Territory next year.
“[Greg] Sharp took a liking to me; he’s shown me a lot, actually,” she said.
Seymour FM president Ruth Yeatman said Seymour FM was excited to take possession of its new home in Seymour's Chittick Park precinct and was hopeful this was the first of many youth collaboration projects for the station.
“If we get a youth hub then we can be cross-generational and then we are really servicing the community,” she said.
“Also they can have a resume, a reference, you know, which is a great way for them to leave school.”
The station is liaising with career councillors from the local schools, who are keen to work with the station upon its opening.
The building works began on July 20 and the Seymour FM team is hoping to make the move on Melbourne Cup weekend. The station plans to have a combined grand opening, Christmas and 21st birthday party all at once later in the year.