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Behind every great radio show is a producer who makes it happen.
For 93.9 WKYS, one of D.C.’s top hip hop stations, that person is Dominique Higdon.
Higdon is a 2015 graduate of High Point University and an assistant program director at Radio One for 93.9 in Washington, D.C.
Her HPU education helped her get there.
Rising through the Ranks
Higdon stayed busy while she was a student at HPU. She majored in communication with a concentration in electronic media, and was actively involved with the Black Cultural Awareness organization. She also served as a board member radio host for a talk show called “The Girls Are Talkin’” for HPU’s radio station “The Sound.”
After graduating in May 2015, Higdon has moved up the ranks in the radio industry.
She began as an intern at the Russ Parr Morning Show – a nationally-syndicated morning show with more than 3.2 million listeners across the country. A few months later, she was hired as a board operator for the show, and was recently promoted to assistant program director for 93.9 WKYS.
In October 2015, Higdon attended her first red carpet event at the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. She returned to the red carpet last month as a videographer and producer at the 2016 BET Honors in D.C. There, she filmed interviews with award-winning celebrities including “Empire” director Lee Davis, singer Pattie Labelle and others.
“HPU showed me what it means to be extraordinary,” Higdon says. “It taught me to always keep my standards high and strive for greatness. Without the great education and experiences High Point University offered me, I would have never been in this position.”
Running the Show
As an assistant program director for 93.9, Higdon is responsible for managing the station’s 18 on-air talent/mixers. She conducts weekly meetings with representatives from major record labels including Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Atlantic Records, Capitol Records, Def Jam and more. She also oversees the station’s social media, tracks ratings and organizes focus groups for song and artist selection.
In a way, Higdon runs the show at 93.9.
But she never forgets how HPU gave her the education and support she needed to excel in the communication industry.
“As I was organizing an activity for a team at work, I reflected on my leadership role as the costume director in my Senior Production class’ movie project,” she says. “I realized that the same skills I utilized then were the same ones that I was using in my work environment. My manager was impressed with how I managed the effort, especially given that I was the youngest member of the team.”
Higdon encourages current HPU students to seize every opportunity to grow and get outside their comfort zones. If you do that, she says, HPU will help you become a better you.
That’s what Higdon did, after all. And it’s set her on a path of excellence.