For the past three years, WKAR's Morning Edition host Megan Schellong has woken up at 3 a.m. every weekday to bring you the news as you get out of bed and head to work.
Now she's leaving us to take on a new opportunity out of state. And we'll of course miss her a lot. And I'm sure you will, too. But before she goes, we wanted to give her a chance to reflect on the time she spent at WKAR.
WKAR's All Things Considered host Sophia Saliby interviewed Megan about her time at the station.
Interview Highlights
On her favorite part of being a Morning Edition host
Being a public radio journalist, part of that or a large part of that is being able to tell the stories of the people who live here. So, from the ways that Mikey23 Foundation is teaching young people skills, while also steering them away from gun violence to the ways the Allen Neighborhood Center is giving entrepreneurs a chance to test out their restaurant ideas. I've just really loved getting to form relationships with folks like Michael McKissic, and Jose Aste, who are just a part of the larger Mid-Michigan community really doing the work to make this place, this world a better place.
On her favorite memories with the WKAR team
I look back on these three years and all I can do is smile because of the amazing people here. I really enjoy the fundraisers because I get to have a co-host. And that has always been so much fun for me and just laughing with our team in the morning news meetings to the handoffs with Jody and Linda and Jamie, I'm just going to miss the people here. They're just the best.
On her last words for listeners
I want to thank you guys so much for just being here with me in the morning, whether you're making your coffee or brewing your coffee in the morning, you're on the road commuting or you're just listening at home on your smart speaker or your radio, thank you for spending so many of your mornings with me and thank you for valuing public media, I truly believe all the listeners who tune into Morning Edition they really are for what we stand for here which is, you know, journalism that connects to Mid-Michigan to its people and I'm so glad I was able to do that for you.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: Our Morning Edition host Megan Schellong has woken up at 3 a.m. every weekday to bring you the news as you get out of bed and head to work. Now she's leaving us to take on a new opportunity out of state. And we'll of course miss her a lot. And I'm sure you will, too. But before she goes, we wanted to give her a chance to reflect on the time she spent at WKAR. Megan is here with me now. Thank you for being with us.
Megan Schellong: Hi Sophia, good to be here.
Saliby: How are you feeling about not having to wake up so early every day?
Schellong: I am so excited to turn off all of my alarms and to sleep 8 to 10 hours during the week and to do normal people things like maybe go out for dinner during the week. So just easing into a regular routine, I guess.
Saliby: And what's been your favorite part about being our Morning Edition host besides the early mornings?
Schellong: Besides the early mornings? Oh man, there's so many things. But being a public radio journalist, part of that or a large part of that is being able to tell the stories of the people who live here.
From the ways that Mikey23 Foundation is teaching young people skills, while also steering them away from gun violence to the ways the Allen Neighborhood Center is giving entrepreneurs a chance to test out their restaurant ideas. I've just really loved getting to form relationships with folks like Michael McKissic and Jose Aste, who are just a part of the larger Mid-Michigan community really doing the work to make this place, this world a better place.
Saliby: You know, you mentioned a couple of stories there. But are there any stories that really stick out that you enjoyed working on and bringing to our listeners?
Schellong: Yes, I think it all has to go back to one of my first stories whereI interviewed a jazz musician. It was kind of the height of the pandemic, when all this anti-Asian rhetoric like was occurring. And he composed this jazz album and one of the prominent instruments in it was a saxophone, which has this kind of resilient quality to it.
And just interviewing Jordan VanHemert and hearing him talk about how proud he was to be Korean American, that kind of rubbed off on me and was contagious. And it was an impetus for how I kind of came into being so proud of my Chinese American identity today.
Saliby: Are there any good memories you'd like to share about being a part of the WKAR team
Schellong: There are so many Sophia, too many to count. I look back on these three years and all I can do is smile because of the amazing people here. I really enjoy the fundraisers because I get to have a co-host. And that has always been so much fun for me and just laughing with our team in the morning news meetings to the handoffs with Jody and Linda and Jamie, I'm just going to miss the people here, they're just the best.
Sophia: And do you have anything that you'd like to say to all of your listeners who wake up with you?
Schellong: I want to thank you guys so much for just being here with me in the morning, whether you're making your coffee or brewing your coffee in the morning, you're on the road commuting or you're just listening at home on your smart speaker or your radio, thank you for spending so many of your mornings with me and thank you for valuing public media, I truly believe all the listeners who tune into Morning Edition they really are for what we stand for here which is journalism that connects to Mid-Michigan to its people and I'm so glad I was able to do that for you.
Saliby: Megan Schellong has been our Morning Edition host. We want to wish her the best of luck now that she's signing off here at WKAR. So Thank you Megan, on behalf of all of us.
Schellong: Thanks Sophia, I’m really going to miss you all.
This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
