Though VMFM 91.7 has won awards, the station earned possibly its biggest to date, being the recipient of a Steamtown Music Award.

“It was a great tie-in to the celebration that we were having with the radio station move and alumni coming back,” said Ernie Mengoni, the coordinator of broadcast operations and adviser for VMFM 91.7.

This only adds to the excitement of the year for Marywood University’s student-run radio station. After having spent the past eight years on the terrace level of the Learning Commons, VMFM 91.7 made the move upstairs, becoming more visible for anyone on Marywood’s campus to see. Along with the new look for the station, VMFM 91.7 rebranded its logo, having the iconic Pacer be included.

Marywood had an official opening for the new station during Alumni Weekend, along with the rest of Marywood Main Street. With the ribbon cutting, former Marywood graduates had the chance to return to the DJ booth, with alumni ranging from the class of 1983 to the class of 2025.

The big year was topped off with the nomination for the “Local Radio Station of the Year” category for the Steamtown Music Awards.

“What makes it really special is that our competitors, our commercial stations in the market, such as [98.5] KRZ, Rock 107, [105] River, were all nominated in the same category,” said Mengoni. “We were the only college radio station nominated as best radio station with those other commercial stations.”

Brielle Scheland, the VMFM 91.7 station manager, describes the importance of college radio and what this award would mean for the station.

“With the new branding and representation that we’ve had, I think it’s really important that we brand ourselves as not just a college station, but a station that’s really serious about what we do,” said Scheland. “To be nominated against so many local stations that are ‘real stations,’ it means a lot for us to be taken seriously for people who work in the station and just want to be involved.”

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