WKSU's Amy Eddings, a Brunswick High School alum, is a lifetime learner

CLEVELAND — The morning begins at 2:10 a.m. Arriving to work by 4 a.m., she immediately prepares to go on air by 6 a.m. Speaking to thousands of listeners across the Cleveland area each morning, this is the life of local host/producer of WKSU's "Morning Edition" — and Brunswick High School alum — Amy Eddings. Eddings is responsible for pulling her audio clips, and creating the perfect flow of information to deliver to her audience. "My job as a local host is to come in with local news and information," she said. "So, I do local newscasts at the 6 o'clock, 6:30 hour, 7, 7:30, 8 and 8:30. As a producer, I get opportunities to do my own stories which are called features and I play them inside that 'Morning Edition' format." With quickly evolving stories, Eddings has to be vigilant and prompt in how she delivers a story to an audience. In fact, Eddings can even be editing a story up until the last second before she's live. These early, fast-paced mornings were not what Eddings envisioned when she graduated from Brunswick High School. In fact, during her time in high school, being a morning show radio host was far from what Eddings had pictured for herself. Her aspirations? To be an actress in Hollywood. "My high school self wanted to be a movie star. I wanted to move to LA. I wanted to be all glam," Eddings said. Despite that dream, she continued her education and didn't have an exact idea of where she wanted to end up. "You know, I couldn't decide what to be when I grew up. So, when I went to college at Ohio State University in Columbus, it took five years because I almost had a triple major. I took a lot of courses in English, history, and in theater. I couldn't decide," Eddings said. After graduating from OSU, her path was still unclear. "I graduated from Ohio State and went to graduate school at NYU in New York City and had no idea what I wanted to do. When I came upon radio, I hit the ground running," Eddings said. After getting her start in radio, Eddings would continue a career in New York City. "For a long time, I worked at the public radio station in New York City, WNYC, and I developed what I call the garbage beat. I was the garbage and recycling reporter. I loved it. The thing I love about telling stories about trash is that everybody produces it, but nobody wants to take responsibility for it. There's a lot of conflict there, and conflict is good for stories," Eddings said. For 28 years, Eddings' dedication and hard work had all built up to a moment in which change was necessary. "There's a part of me that wanted to challenge that part of my ego that was really attached to that identity. Like, who am I if I'm not this? So, I stepped away just to see how it feels," she reflected. Leaving the Big Apple and moving to rural Ada, Ohio, Eddings then served as a columnist for roughly a year and a half for the Lima News. "It didn't feel good," she said with a chuckle. "Actually, it was fine until the job opportunity came at then WCPN and I was invited to submit my resume for this 'Morning Edition' post. I applied, and I went in for my interview, and when I walked into the studios it was like this feeling of, 'I'm home. My people.'" Recently Ideastream Public Media announced it was "joining forces" with WKSU, which is owned by Kent State University. With the agreement, WKSU became the sole National Public Radio station in Northeast Ohio, while WCPN 90.3 FM shifted to a classical music service. Eddings' programming was moved from WCPN to WKSU with the agreement. WKSU can be found at 89.7 FM and 104.9 FM. Through her exploration, she found that her home was in public media. "I learned that my greatest joy is working in public media. Serving people, presenting them with news and information, and talking to people every day. I just love that," Eddings said. Along with being able to fill out her love of performance, Eddings feels as if she is getting to explore each of her interests in her daily radio hosting. "It scratches that itch that I had in the theater, so I get to perform," she said. "It scratches that itch that I had with English, I get to write. It scratches that itch I have with history, which is I'm reporting history. I'm reporting current events, and I'm also understanding our past, right? Because that informs our present, providing a context for what's going on right now in our world right now. So, I found it to be a perfect melding of all the things I'm interested in." When not on the air, Eddings finds joy in the simple things. "I like to nap. I like to read. I like to bake. I'm going to make chocolate chip cookies when I get home. I got a great recipe. I hang out with my cat, who's a sweetie. I play tennis when I can. I meet friends for coffee, and stay in touch with my friends and family. I like to write, I try to pay attention to my own writing," Eddings said. In fact, as of recently, Eddings is taking on a new hobby. "I'm teaching myself how to play the ukulele," she said. "Bernadette Teaches Music has a ukulele crash course, and I've been taking her 30-day ukulele challenge. I'm really, really enjoying it." She has no plans on just stopping at the ukulele. "Next, I want to learn to play bass. I want to rock out on bass," she said. &emsp;&emsp; Being the host and producer of WKSU's local "Morning Edition" is something that keeps Eddings on her toes. Just when something may become comfortable, there is always something new for her to explore and learn. "I'm learning something new every day. I aspire to be a lifelong learner, and this puts me in the thick of that," she said. &emsp;&emsp; Thanks to all her hard work and dedication, Eddings was inducted into the Brunswick High School Hall of Fame. Bringing her back to her time in the halls of BHS, Eddings holds the honor close to her heart. "You know, it was a homecoming of sorts. It felt really good to be recognized in that way. It's an honor. It's an opportunity for somebody to say, 'Hey look, I'm interested in what she does. She's an alum. I go to school here. Maybe if I reach out to her, we can connect.' And absolutely, 100 percent we can connect," Eddings said. While she may not exactly be a star on the big screen, Eddings thinks the high school version of herself would be more than pleased to see where she has ended up. "I think this is so much better than being a movie star. There's still that very performative aspect, and that very public aspect, of being a local host of NPR's 'Morning Edition,' to thousands of listeners every morning, so I think she's digging that," Eddings said. Logan William, a senior at Brunswick High School, is one of more than 50 student "backpack journalists" (grades 6-12) in the award-winning BEAT Video Program. The program is sponsored by Scene75 (scene75.com), Plum Creek Assisted Living Community, Baskets Galore, Medina County Women's Endowment Fund, Medina County Community Fund, Brunswick University Center, Brunswick Eagles 3505, 100+ Women Who Care Medina, and the Brunswick Rotary Club. Go to thebeat22.com to learn more about the program, or visit thebeat.viebit.com to view videos produced by the students.