By Kelsey Rogers, Asst. News Editor
Susquehanna Senior Kirsten Hatton has made history at WQSU, the university’s radio station, by being the first woman sports director since 2002.
Previously serving as the productions director for the station, Hatton initially did not want to take on the position of sports director.
“There were other men who were interested in it too,” Hatton said. “I said, ‘Maybe I should just do production director again because I already had the experience.’”
Hatton said she finally took on the role once General Manager Dawn Benfer and WQSU Faculty Advisor Craig Stark told her that she deserved the position.
“It was just an eye-opening experience because I was going to give it to another guy,” Hatton said.
Hatton changed the game for sports media at the radio station when she produced and participated in WQSU’s first all-women’s Sports Corner broadcast.
Hatton had already frequented the usual Sports Corner broadcast but got the idea for an all-women’s show when talking to a classmate.
“There’s six of us [women] in the department. Not all of us had been on air before,” Hatton said. “We got really good feedback on it. One of my passions is to continue it.”
The original airing of the “Ladies’ Night” Sports Corner broadcast covered women in sports followed by a segment on the NFL.
The show was recently nominated for best sports talk program by the intercollegiate broadcasting system. Hatton and other members of the WQSU staff will attend the award ceremony in March to see if they won.
Growing up outside of Philadelphia, Hatton’s family were Philadelphia sports enthusiasts. She frequented Phillies games and said that their 2008 World Series victory was when it all started.
Hatton began learning about different sports, and a hobby quickly turned into a future career when she applied to Susquehanna’s sports media program. However, Hatton didn’t always see herself having a career in sports.
“I had no idea what I was going to major in,” Hatton said. “I wanted to be an early childhood education major but then I started applying to schools and I didn’t know if I could see myself doing this for 30 years.”
Once Hatton became a student at Susquehanna in 2015, she became involved with WQSU as an on-air DJ. After being an on-air personality for three semesters, she participated in her first Sports Corner broadcast.
Hatton said she was scared for her first broadcast and had a large amount of notes prepared.
“It turned out to just be a fun conversation and that’s when I knew that I could do this,” Hatton said. “As it grew on and I started to go on more shows, I was getting in arguments with them and they were starting to respect me more.”
Benfer commented on Hatton’s willingness and said that she had the desire and the drive to make a difference and be the sports director.
“We wanted to put her in that position and we’re so glad that we did because she has gone above any expectations that I ever had,” Benfer said. “She is breaking barriers.” Benfer said that Hatton’s additional experience of color commentating for football and basketball is paving the way for future women in broadcasting at WQSU.
Hatton said that being on WQSU’s sports corner gave her the confidence to talk for herself. She said that she has listened to many sports broadcasters who say that confidence is necessary due to rejection.
“Definitely get involved and put yourself out there because you never know what can happen,” Hatton said.
