Local high school radio station gets recognition from American rock star

Students from St. Mary’s College (SMC) launched a radio station in late 2021 and it has already reached over 3,000 listeners.

One of the supporters of the SMC radio is the lead singer of Poison, Bret Michaels, who congratulated the student crew with their success in this recent Instagram video. 

For more information, read the news release below:

When students at St. Mary’s College (SMC) in Sault Ste. Marie decided to launch a high school radio station, they knew it would make broadcast history as the only station of its kind in the city. Never in their wildest dreams did they anticipate that their radio shows would be appreciated by such a vast audience including an internationally renowned rock star.  

Dubbed SMC Radio, the student-led, student-driven initiative was launched in late 2021 and has already amassed over 3000 listeners. Among the supporters of SMC Radio is the lead singer of Poison – rocker Bret Michaels – who recently congratulated the St. Mary’s students and encouraged them to continue keeping the spirit of radio alive and well for the next generation. 

“SMC Radio rocks my world,” said Michaels in a video statement to the SMC Radio Crew. “You’re our future. Keep rocking our world.” 

Bret Michaels’ music has been featured on numerous SMC Radio broadcasts, including a special show dedicated  to Michaels on his birthday last month. Grade 11 student Lauren Ouellette, who has hosted many of the ‘80s themed rock/metal shows for SMC Radio, was thrilled to receive words of encouragement from such an influential musician. 

“It feels surreal,” said Ouellette, who has been with SMC Radio since its inception. “People are noticing us.” 

Ouellette spends several hours a week broadcasting for the school’s radio station. Whether she is on-air at lunch,  after school or even on the weekend, she recognizes the importance of having such an innovative platform to share her talents. 

“Being part of SMC Radio has been everything I thought it would be and way more,” remarked Ouellette. “It is  super fun and it’s a way to get my voice out there. There’s really no other way to describe it.” 

The experience with Bret Michaels was not the first time in which the SMC Radio Crew got to rub shoulders with a celebrity. During a March Madness theme week at St. Mary’s College, Casey MacDonald – on-air host with KiSS  100.5 – visited SMC at lunchtime and helped to host a live broadcast from the school’s Commons stage. 

“Working with Casey was so great. She was super sweet,” shared Ouellette. “It gives us the confidence to keep doing what we’re doing. We are getting out into the community soon for some remote broadcasts. We want to use our platform to help promote local businesses.”  

Mario Rocchetta, a teacher at St. Mary’s College who moderates the student-led radio station, has been humbled by the level of success that SMC Radio has already reached – but he’s not at all surprised.

“I knew from the moment we started SMC Radio that this was going to be something special,” remarked Rocchetta. “This has been a grassroots initiative to its core. Based on the immediate level of passion and  commitment that I saw from our students, I knew that they would get SMC Radio off the ground and make it  something unique, something to be acknowledged. A dedicated radio station is something that few other high schools across the province have ever attempted to do.” 

Aside from the high level of student commitment, Rocchetta credits the success of SMC Radio to the innovative  mindset of everyone at St. Mary’s College, including the administration team.  

“When I went to our principal, Colleen Hannah, with the idea, I wasn’t even done with my pitch yet and she had  already started asking how she could help to get this thing started,” smiled Rocchetta. “It’s because of terrific,  innovative leadership like this at St. Mary’s College that our teachers are empowered to offer clubs to our  students, and that the students are then empowered to make it their own.” 

Since its inception, the platform of SMC Radio has been used for the greater good of the school community.  Aside from hosting traditional music broadcasts, on-air personalities also host a variety of talk-based content  ranging from informative shows about what is happening around the school, to advice broadcasts that tackle some of the most common teenage issues. One of the most popular shows on SMC Radio has been Songs From When Your Favourite Teacher Was in High School.

“You get to see a different side of our teachers with these broadcasts,” said Lauren Bowden, a Grade 12 student  who hosts the teacher shows on SMC Radio. “It builds a deeper connection within our school community.” 

Bowden is a strong proponent of the radio initiative at SMC and encourages all students, especially those just  starting their time at St. Mary’s College, to get involved. “It’s all about personal expression, and you’re able to  really do that with something so creative like SMC Radio.”  

Thanks to the innovative technologies at St. Mary’s College, the SMC Radio Crew has experienced no interruptions since the launch of the radio station. Even when the province mandated the closure of schools for a period of time following Christmas break, students with SMC Radio switched to broadcasting from home and continued to provide the school community with new content. 

“SMC Radio is completely different from other clubs at St. Mary’s,” said 11th-grader Amanda Guzzo, who contributes to the school’s radio station as an on-air host. “The whole pandemic really did ruin a lot of things for a lot of people. SMC Radio has provided us the chance to have an escape from it all. It’s consistently been an outlet for us and good for our mental health.”