Student shares love for music and radio

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Third-year chemical engineering student AJ Colosimo serves as development director for RIT’s radio station, WITR-FM (89.7).

Third-year chemical engineering student AJ Colosimo serves as development director for RIT’s radio station, WITR-FM (89.7). When he is not busy with his engineering courses, he takes time to share music with the RIT community. He is organizing upcoming installments of WITR at Lunch. The events, which are held from noon to 2 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 7 at the Tiger Statue near the Student Alumni Union, are an opportunity for the RIT community to listen to some music outdoors, with a few other surprises in store.

Question: Where are you from?
Answer: I am from Whitesboro, N.Y.

Q: What brought you to RIT?
A: The chemical engineering program and department. The fact that the program is so new was, and still is, very exciting to me. When I was first looking at colleges, the fact that RIT has a great bowling team was also a big draw for me.

Q: What has been your favorite RIT moment?
A: It would definitely have to be putting together WITR’s spring concert last year, WITRfest. A lot of work went into that, with help from a lot of people and it was an incredibly satisfying moment to see it all pay off with a great, fun concert that RIT students seemed to enjoy.

Q: What activities are you involved in at RIT?
A: I used to be on the RIT Bowling Team, but now I am most heavily involved with WITR 89.7.

Q: In your opinion, what is the most interesting or unique thing about yourself?
A: I love languages and cultures. I speak French, Russian, a tiny bit of Spanish, and have been to Europe twice, now. I would love to have a job that incorporates doing business all over the world. Having an interest in many different cultures definitely makes being in a managerial position easier, as it trains you to look at things from a different viewpoint.

Q: What is WITR at Lunch?
A: It started as a way for us to promote a chiptunes festival we’re doing in December, but is in the process of evolving into us being out at the Tiger Statue during lunch just hanging out, playing music and doing whatever else seems like fun.

Q: How did you get involved with the event and what is your role?
A: I organized the first one, which was on Oct. 12, and have been organizing every one since then, with input from the member base of WITR.

Q: What advice would you give to other students?
A: Try new things and explore Rochester. Getting out of your comfort zone is one of the best things that you can do. Go out and do something that you never thought you would—it’s a great way to find out what things you might like. As for Rochester, you’re here for four or five years, and there are a lot of unique and interesting places to try out.

Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: I am obviously striving for a job in chemical engineering, but I would love to stay involved in radio in one capacity or another, and also to get involved in the public policy sector.

Matt Gregory compiles “Student Spotlights” for University News. Contact him at msg2110@rit.edu with suggestions.