You may have heard volunteer programmer Eloise Schultz on the Sunday Morning Coffeehouse where she is one of four rotating co-hosts, or you might have heard her on WERU’s rockin’ Celtic music show, New Potatoes, which airs Sundays from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Our Eloise is versatile like that! Her response to the question, “what’s one of your favorite moments of WERU?” may go down as the sweetest story of its kind—and may even inspire you to volunteer and create your own favorite WERU memory. Meet Eloise:

I started listening to WERU during the early months of the pandemic. At the time, I was spending every spare hour on a house-renovation project. WERU became my constant companion. I especially loved the weekend rotation and set my days according to the broadcast schedule, from Front Porch Folk to Women’s Windows. Because of the relative isolation of that time, I became a devoted listener very quickly. Although we live in the age of streaming and I could have been listening to anything from anywhere, it was really important to me that WERU was local; it became my primary connection to the larger community. At one point, the station felt like such an extension of my personality that I put “WERU and chill?” in my online-dating profile. (This may or may not still be the case.) WERU largely kept me afloat during the dark night of the soul that was my mid-twenties. I know that I’m not alone in this! Around that time, some of my friends were also becoming volunteer programmers. Hearing their voices on-air was inspiring and made me believe I could become a volunteer as well.

Music was one of the first ways I learned to express myself emotionally and authentically. It’s been one of the most consistently important things in my life, and one of the first ways that I connect with other people. I’ve been a performer since a really young age, when I was part of a kid ensemble that performed at street fairs in New York City. As a teenager, I played the trumpet and sang in my school’s choir. I was lucky to have a choir teacher who exposed us to a ton of different folk traditions like Slavic-style singing, which I still do today with my band. Also around then, I discovered shape-note singing and would take my kick-scooter to Midtown once a week to sing in the basement of St. Peter’s Church. Even when I’m having a really hard day, playing music with other people is still something that always makes me feel better. When I moved to Maine, my first friends here were deeply involved with the contradance and traditional-music community. I was exclusively a listener of these genres for about a decade, and only recently started to explore how my instruments could fit. Now I’m obsessed. In fact, I should probably stop typing right now and go learn a tune. 

I got the impression early on that musical genre isn’t hierarchical: all music is a valid mode of expression. Growing up in New York City I was exposed to a huge range of music just walking around—jazz, folk, rock, classical—with tons of talented street performers playing everything from plastic buckets to ehrus. WERU really embodies just such a vast musical range, and it’s one of the reasons why I love the station. I also love that our community radio is not just about music; our public affairs programs are incredibly valuable. It’s really important to me to have a trusted news source for global affairs as well as local happenings, and all-the-more that WERU is of our community, for our community. Plus, all the coolest people I know have been involved in community radio at some point. I would call it a rite of passage—but am beginning to suspect that it’s way more than that!

One of the things I love about being a programmer is the ability to turn a personal experience into something shared. It feels amazing to hear from listeners how much they’re enjoying the playlist or the conversation. I bring so many life experiences and knowledges to my work as a programmer. I have had so many different jobs and picked up a lot of secret knowledge along the way! As a poet, I am totally a nerd for meter. Recently I was describing my favorite metrical unit (it’s the anapest) to my friend, and she said, “Oh! That’s the same rhythm as Québécois foot percussion.” Tap-tap-TAP. I love comparing meter and polyrhythms to figure out why certain phrases sound so nice. This is probably not even the nerdiest thing about me, but it’s close.

People always ask how I got involved with the station. Well, during summer 2024, I met WERU’s General Manager Matt Murphy at a concert during the Acadia Festival of Traditional Music and Dance. Between sets, I introduced myself so I could share how much I appreciate the station. When he asked if I’d like to volunteer, I wondered, “what am I waiting for?” A year and a half later—here I am, with my life totally changed! I’m even on the board! Becoming a volunteer opens the door to so many other opportunities: you never know what might come out of it! Plus, there are so many ways to be involved. It’s really rewarding work—it’s the coolest club to be part of.

Maybe one of my favorite memories of WERU comes from when I started my training as a volunteer programmer, Matt and Maureen invited me to sit in on their New Potatoes slot. They were already FAMOUS to me as “Matt and Maureen,” so this was a huge moment for me. After Matt finished his introductions and loaded up the first CD, he turned off the mic and said to Maureen, “Okay, we have five minutes.” Then they danced in the hallway until it was time for the next announcement! I think about this moment all the time because it represents the incredible love that is always happening behind the airwaves. Sometimes you just have to dance in the studio.