来自社区的清晰度

Growing up, Clare Duffy ‘08 never really knew what she wanted to be, despite feeling a lot of pressure to figure that out after graduating high school.

The small campus at Mount Mercy, along with professors and staff, helped her to find her perfect place post-graduation as morning show host at KZIA Radio – a place where she knows she can make someone’s day a little brighter.

达菲列出了她想从大学经历中得到的重要元素。 仁慈山满足了这个要求。

“I knew I wanted to go to a small school. 我想和我的教授联系，让他们知道我的名字。”达菲说。 “地点也是关键。 I wanted my own space, but also didn’t want to spend hours driving home. As I began touring schools, I gravitated toward Catholic schools, since that’s my religion. Mount Mercy ended up being the perfect school for me.”

“I knew I wanted to go to a small school. 我想和我的教授联系，让他们知道我的名字。”

达菲参加了戏剧俱乐部、英语俱乐部和新兴领袖项目，为《慈悲山时报》撰稿，并出演了多部戏剧，所有这些都为她今天戴上了传播者/主持人/表演者的帽子。

“I initially thought maybe I should be an 英语 teacher, but then decided I may love literature, but teaching was not for me,” she said. “So I decided a double major in communication and 英语 would make me more marketable…still not knowing what sort of job I would be going for. 后来我的一个朋友在Z102.9实习。 She wasn’t that into it, but I was so jealous of how fun it seemed.

“The next year I became an intern in the promotions department and had a great summer," said Duffy. “但我觉得最有趣的是每次上早间节目。 毕业后，我表现出对dj的兴趣，积累了一些经验，从那时起，制作人的工作就有了机会。 I applied, got the job and I’ve been here ever since. 我觉得自己很幸运能做自己喜欢的工作！”

当被问及谁对她在Mount Mercy的成功起到了重要作用时，达菲提到了多位教职员工。

“There are so many awesome people on the mount! The entire 英语 Department — especially Jim Grove (retired) who always pushed me to be a better writer; Kathy Pudzuvelis（退休），我的老师和勤工俭学的老板，她帮助我成长、成熟并成为一名领导者； and Dorothy Lutz (in the cafeteria), who memorized each student’s name as she scanned our cards for meals. She came to all my shows — even in adulthood! She was so supportive and a cheerleader for all students.”

达菲通过预订嘉宾、撰写喜剧小品和片段、研究内容、音频制作以及成为节目中的个性来支持Just Schulte & Clare节目。 She’s proud that station KZIA is locally owned and community focused in doing such things as giving out ice cream on a hot day or collecting water and supplies for regions devastated by a natural disaster. 达菲带头发起了KZIA一年一度的活动，名为“礼服城”（Gown Town）。在这个活动中，该电台收集了一些旧的舞会礼服，免费送给来自锡达拉皮兹、马里昂、海瓦塔和爱荷华市的高中生。 Those are some of the things she’s most proud of in her career.

“We want to create good radio and because of that we make sure to localize our content, whether reporting on weather emergencies or writing musical parodies about local events. Finding something interesting and engaging for our audience each and every day can be a challenge and a little victory.”

Filling the bill in her personal life, Duffy met her husband, Nick ’08, at Mount Mercy, with whom she now parents daughters Audrey and Cora. 她还在圣Ludmila教堂做志愿者，并帮助组织每年的Kolach节。 有了如此全面的生活，达菲说她当然不后悔自己的大学生活。

“那是一段试错和自我发现的伟大时期。 如果知道我现在所知道的，我可能会以不同的方式航行，但我不后悔，”达菲说。 "So many of the experiences I’ve had in life have made radio a really good fit for me. 我爱上了表演，喜欢上了舞台。 我认为这有助于我创造、表演和大胆。 I also honed my writing skills at Mount Mercy — which I never thought I could do. But it helps when trying to write sketches or prepare information for broadcast.”

Duffy’s advice for current or prospective Mount Mercy students is to try many things.

You don’t have to focus on one aspect of yourself; 你可以尝试很多东西，看看你最喜欢什么。

“Mount Mercy has a wonderful, supportive community," said Duffy. “小校园可以让你尝试新事物，尝试很多东西。 You don’t have to focus on one aspect of yourself; 你可以尝试很多东西，看看你最喜欢什么。 Professors and staff are committed to your success, and will go out of their way to make sure you have the tools to succeed.”