KELSEY LITTLETON; Guest Writer: littlekn@plu.edu
The grandson of Pacific Lutheran football coaching legend Frosty Westering has made his own mark on Pacific Lutheran University history as a journalist for Mast Media.
Senior Kellen Westering, started out his PLU football career as a wide receiver in 2011, coached by his father, Scott Westering. However, due to numerous injuries his football career was put on pause.
Westering started his journalism career broadcasting basketball games since his first year in 2011, then added football games after an injury prevented him from playing in 2015.
“I wanted to be involved in some way,” Westering said.
Westering is a communication major with a concentration in journalism. His professor Joanne Lisosky pushed him to start writing for the school newspaper, the Mast.
From there he added sports anchoring and radio to his media resume. Westering writes a piece for the Mast called “Kellen’s Corner” where he gets quotes from PLU coaches about their seasons. He also anchors for “News @ Nine” once a week and cohosts a radio show, “Sports Talk.”
“Sports Talk” streams live on Fridays at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on LASR radio. The program covers sports both at PLU and on the professional level. Westering hosts with two other students, junior Drew Ardissone, and sophomore Christian Bond. They have named their trio, “2 1/2 Athletes.”
“Working with Kellen is great. Because his family is so instrumental in the PLU community he has access to great resources,” Bond said. “He’s really helpful in that he knows so much of the stuff that goes on here at PLU.”
Westering said he enjoys doing radio most out of all of his media jobs because he has the ability to be creative and talk about whatever he wants.
“I look forward to it every Friday,” Westering said.
The first Friday after Spring Break, Westering, Bond and Ardissone arrive in the UC where they host “Sports Talk” 30 minutes before air to discuss the script and prepare for the next two hours.
The room is covered in vinyls and has a relaxed atmosphere. All three hosts sit with a laptop in front of them with their script lighting the screen, headphones on, and a microphone four inches from their faces. Westering has his shoes off and is dressed in shorts and a PLU shirt.
During the show the hosts crack jokes and discuss sports by themselves and with guests (the guest that day was Scott Westering). The show goes on with a lighthearted air and it is easy to tell that the hosts enjoy what they do. They are comfortable and confident in their questions and talk to each other like friends instead of three men doing a radio show.
I was able to sit in the background and listen to the first half hour of their show. Upon walking in I was greeted by Westering with a friendly, “Hey Kels!” I then had the opportunity to speak with Bond while Westering prepared for the show. Both men were incredibly friendly. I did not feel uncomfortable sitting in the small room while the broadcast continued, except when I knocked over Ardissone’s water bottle.
“I love it so much,” Westering said. “I feel like if I wasn’t involved in this stuff I would just be going through the motions in school.”
Westering said he plans to graduate Winter 2016 so he can have the opportunity to play one last season of football with his father as his coach. He wants to pursue a career in sports journalism, either on the radio or on television.
Might he consider a career in coaching like his father and grandfather?
“It’s in my blood,” Westering said, who is also minoring in coaching.
Kellen Westering had big shoes to fill during his career at Pacific Lutheran University and through that pressure he found a passion of his own in sports journalism, specifically sports radio.
“I definitely think the Mast has broadened my horizons,” Westering said. “This is what I want to do in the future.”
Check out past “Sports Talk” podcasts right here: https://mastmedia.plu.edu/category/student-radio/sports-podcasts/