Have you ever wondered about the people that make the magic happen at VPR? Well, we're here to pull back the curtain! Each month we're profiling different members of the VPR team; finding out what they do as well as some interesting facts about them. This time, we're talking to VPR's Web Developer, Sara Simon. She's celebrating one year at VPR today!
The Essentials:
- My name is: Sara Simon
- Public radio employee since: 2015
- Public radio listener since: Elementary school
- My job is: Web Developer
Tell Me More:
When I tell people I work for VPR, they often say... "Wait, but what does a web developer do at a radio station?" Totally fair question! I build technologies that help our news team to find and tell stories. I work with the digital team to think about how we can give radio stories a longer life online. I spend a lot of time chatting with developers in other newsrooms to learn about the tools they use and to work on open source code together. I love that my job here is flexible and that the VPR team encourages me constantly to use my technical skills in new ways.
I've learned the most about radio from...The people behind the scenes. I've been lucky these past few months to share a workspace with the technology and operations teams. For every show you hear, there's a whole host of people who work all kinds of magic to make sure the editors, producers and hosts are prepared to deliver great content.
What I listen to when I'm not listening to VPR... I am an unabashed fan of Delilah.
"Please don't kick me out of Vermont for saying this, but I will never not enjoy watching jaws drop in horror when I throw out a harmless reference to delicious maple soft serve." - Sara Simon
The one word I stumble over on air... OK, this isn't a word but on my first pledge drive, I was legitimately nervous that I would get caught up in the excitement of it all and ask listeners to support VPR by calling 867-5309 (like the song). It's never happened, but now I've probably jinxed it.
The newscast headline reporting the last year in my life would be... "Former English Major Shocks Family, Learns To Code, Moves To Vermont, Buys Snow Tires."
On Sunday morning, you'll find me... At home and in sweatpants with a large mug of coffee and a novel.
Favorite thing to do in Vermont... Please don't kick me out of Vermont for saying this, but I will never not enjoy watching jaws drop in horror when I throw out a harmless reference to delicious maple soft serve.
Be sure to follow Sara on Twitter!
