Eric Dolan ’15

Hometown: Dumont, NJ

Major: Broadcast Journalism

Minor: Social Justice

Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Rinsing, Repeating

Fun Fact: I have never been to Disney World.

Finishing up his second year at WPUNJ, Eric has become a busy guy on campus. Whether he’s hosting The Morning Marquee or switching roles to the Music Director of WPSC 88.7 FM Brave New Radio, it’s safe to say that he’s involved, active, and a music lover! When Eric is not at the radio station you might find him re-enacting Revolutionary Battles. He is also the president of WPUnited. Overall, he loves to get involved, and he wants to make a change!

HC: Can you give me a quick rundown of how you’re involved on campus?

ED: I am, generally speaking, always doing something. I work with some incredible volunteers within WPUnited tutoring at an after school program in Paterson each week alongside them, as well as hosting two shows on our radio station and holding down duties as Music Director. I get tons of free music, solid volunteer hours, and hugs weekly, so all is right in my world.

HC: What is your greatest accomplishment thus far?

ED: My greatest accomplishment has been organizing weekly volunteer trips to assist the Bridgehope Church in Paterson in tutoring their after school students. I’m extremely proud of the hours we have spent since establishing this connection, but all of the credit goes to volunteers who go each and every week. Students from all different majors, grade levels, and interests have come together to lend a hand; it’s extremely special. 

HC: What is your favorite thing about WPUNJ?

ED: The ability and freedom to create media that is brave, poignant, and socially conscious.

HC: If you were given a chance to go back in the past, what memory would you relive?

ED: I would like to relive the first time that I read Catcher in the Rye. I was a high school freshman whose entire perception of literature changed almost instantaneously after the first chapter. 

HC: If you were to give your younger-self a piece of advice, what would it be?

ED: I would like to tell a younger version of myself that local pools never actually had the capacity to place a “urine sensing dye” in their waters. This propagandist fear campaign rattled me for years, forever afraid that one mistake would lead to a lifetime of dyed shame.

HC: What do you hope to accomplish within the next year?

ED: Within the next year I will have liked to have played an integral role in winning a third straight “Best College Station” award for WPSC 88.7FM, but even more importantly I hope to have spent a year creating media that was not only widely enjoyed and well received but that raised questions, exposed issues, and shined a light upon some of the most pressing social issues of our world. 

HC: If you fast-forwarded 5 years from now, what would you be doing?

ED: I cannot even begin to imagine what I will be doing, but I want to be somehow making people’s lives easier. Be it through a radio show, an activist movement, or a journalistic piece, I want to be telling stories and raising attention for issues that matter: Using media to help, advocate, and make a change.