UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The sound of crackling leaves, humming of tools and clucking chickens accompany the everyday stories of the residents of central and northern Pennsylvania in WPSU’s "Slice of Pennsylvania", a collection of “audio postcards” created by students from the Penn State Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.
Katie O’Toole, an instructor and lecturer in the Bellisario College and member of the WPSU Board of Directors, and Emily Reddy, the news director for WPSU-FM, collaborated on the project. The goal of the assignment was to create an immersive listening experience and prepare students for careers in broadcasting or podcasting by teaching them different avenues and mediums for storytelling.
Reddy said “Slice of Pennsylvania” gives students the opportunity to create a natural sound piece, which is a creative puzzle for a reporter.
“A good audio postcard captures and blends engaging sound with interesting interviews. It’s a great skill for a broadcasting student to have. It requires them to be intentional in interviewing so the answers can stand alone to tell the story. They must capture ambient and scene sound that pulls the listener in and gives them a real sense of place,” Reddy said. “This project also provides a rare opportunity for students to work on their piece with a professional editor at WPSU until it meets the required length and quality to use on air. In the end, students have a professional clip they can use to land an internship or their first job after graduation.”
Luke Snyder graduated in spring 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology and broadcast journalism and said the experience at WPSU, which is part of Penn State Outreach, allowed him to go behind the scenes of the radio and journalism industry. He tapped into his love of tattoos to craft his audio postcard.
“The biggest challenge I had with my episode was trying to convey the artform of tattooing through an auditory medium, which is challenging considering tattoos are very visual. So, I decided to take a more personal route and highlight the why behind the tattoos rather than the what. I think this played to my advantage and allowed me to create a more personal story behind the artists,” Snyder said.
Parker Silverman earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism with a minor in sports studies in spring 2026. He also is a member of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism. Silverman turned to his love of the outdoors to frame the sounds of nature in his episode about Mount Nittany.
“I didn't have much trouble telling the story through only audio but found it a bit challenging to blend interviews together with natural sound without it sounding awkward or slowing the pace of the story,” Silverman said. “Working on this project with WPSU continued to foster my love of radio. After graduation, I planned on breaking into television news but have found myself applying to jobs in radio as well. I feel this project enhanced my audio editing skills and made me more proficient in audio storytelling.”
Isabella Tarsitano graduated in spring 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in film production and a minor in religious studies. As an intern at WPSU, she contributed to the “Slice of Pennsylvania” series through an episode that also featured tattooing. She gained some additional production experience by creating digital shorts about everything from collecting to caving to mountain biking.
“I learned the work is both challenging and rewarding. You capture a lot of content, and it is up to you to sculpt it into a story. I also enjoy talking to people and learning more about them through this process,” Tarsitano said. “The opportunity to work with WPSU as a student was an amazing, hands-on learning experience as well as a privilege. I was given instructions and deadlines and then sent on my way. While it seemed daunting to have to figure everything out on my own, including topics, coordinating shoot dates and editing, I also knew that it was a safe environment to do it. The WPSU team was always there to support me if I needed it.”
Listen to the upcoming "Slice of Pennsylvania" episodes on WPSU-FM:
- June 2: “Exercising/Gym” by Sean Regenye
- June 9: “Tattooing” by Isabella Tarsitano
- June 16: “Roller Derby” by Maddie Griffin
Previous episodes are available on the WPSU website.
WPSU-TV, a PBS member station, serves 24 counties in central Pennsylvania and reaches 515,000 households, and WPSU-FM is accessible to more than 450,000 listeners in 13 counties. The public media station also includes WPSU Digital Studios, which offers original web series that explore science, arts and culture.