Suffolk University broadcast journalism senior Olivia Haydar’s path to Suffolk Free Radio didn’t follow a straight line. After leaving the University of Massachusetts Amherst and stepping back from a future in natural sciences, she eventually found her way to Suffolk. Fast forward three years, and she is leading WSFR as the general manager and guiding them through an uncertain chapter.
In her final year, she took on a great task of relocating WSFR’s studio and a wave of hardships all on her own, ultimately leaving the station stronger and more stable. As she walks across the graduation stage this May, it won’t just mark an ending, but everything she rebuilt for herself along the way.
Haydar took on the role of general manager for WSFR back in April 2025, and from the start, she started planning a summer concert at the Modern Theatre to support local live music. With this event, she got a peek into the demands of the role and the responsibility she had to take on.
After a successful summer performance, the momentum was disrupted. Haydar received news that WSFR would have to relocate their studio to make room for an expansion by SUPD. At the beginning of the 2025 fall semester, Haydar found herself in a room with the facilities department and Suffolk chief of police, without an advisor or director to help point her in the right direction.
“I was in it alone representing WSFR, so that’s terrifying. It was very intimidating,” said Haydar.
She did not take this news lightly, rather she fought for WSFR to keep their space, but the situation was simply out of her control. She had to quickly adapt, and within a week Haydar was dismantling the studio herself.
“I started taking down everything in the studio, which was extremely sad, and it was just me alone…I went through everything in the storage, I found hard drives from the 2000s, I found plaques from other clubs, I also found awards from our club that were from the mid 1900s,” said Haydar.
Each item served as a reminder of WSFR’s long history, and made clear that Haydar wasn’t just moving a studio, but carrying everything that came before it. Moments like this underscored how much Haydar had to take on, but just a few years ago, she wasn’t even planning a future in journalism and media.
Haydar started her college career at UMass Amherst in the fall of 2021, where she was an undecided natural sciences major. She explained how she was always good with numbers, and she eventually wanted to become an engineer.
“[I was] learning how to build bridges, and I loved that. I was like, ‘this is crazy, my brain is being opened in so many ways that I’ve never even thought of before.’ So, I thought going to Umass Amherst, one of the most prestigious schools, I should probably do a natural science based major,” said Haydar.
However, after some time at UMass Amherst, Haydar didn’t like how big the school was. So, she decided to take some time off and work for seven months at a witch shop in Salem. During her time at the shop, she was planning her next steps.
“I pretty much decided I really like writing. I’ve always had this spark in the back of my mind with journalism,” said Haydar.
She felt inspired by Nellie Bly, an American journalist who uncovered the cruel practices by psychiatric hospitals in the 1880s. Haydar remembers her seven-year-old self being absolutely obsessed with how Bly put the spotlight on so many hospitals with her reporting.
She also drew inspiration from the film, “Spotlight,” which is a biographical drama on the Boston Globe’s very own Spotlight team, and how they uncovered wrongdoings of Catholic priests on childrenunderage boys. When Haydar first watched the movie in the theater, she jotted down a letter to the Boston Globe on a napkin, thanking them for their reporting. She said she has yet to hear back.
Both of these memorable experiences led her to transfer into Suffolk. She explained that after seeing Studio 73 on her tour, she absolutely fell in love with the program and the location of campus.
Originally she was unsure if journalism was still the right fit for her, but one professor in particular kept her in the program: Charlie St. Amand.
“I had a journalism major when I came to Suffolk and transferred in because that was probably what I was going to do. [I thought] maybe I’ll change my major, but then I had Journalism I with Charlie and I was like ‘oh my God, this is now my life. This is me,’” said Haydar.
That moment cemented Haydar’s place in journalism and in the CJN department, and eventually led her to WSFR, where she would take on her biggest challenge yet: dismantling the original studio. Although now, the question became: What’s next?
Throughout September, WSFR went silent. With new students coming in for the fall semester, Haydar still held meetings, but no one was able to go live, whether it was a podcast or to share their music.
With student affairs, Haydar toured different locations around campus to rebuild their station. At first, she was proposed with the idea to move to the small room across from the Sawyer elevators on the second floor. Her number one concern for this space was the lack of privacy since the room is surrounded by windows.
“There’s less privacy for shows and a lot of shows are talk shows. They’re talking about their days, about things going on in their lives,” said Haydar. “Privacy is nice to have in those vulnerable moments.”
After touring multiple different options, Haydar fell in love with the old Video Gamer’s Army room, which was right next door to the old station. Everything felt right to her: the space, the privacy and even how it had a fireplace. Haydar knew when she walked into that room, WSFR would thrive in this new space. Without much consideration, she immediately told student affairs that this is the one.
With a new place secured, the real work began. Haydar rebuilt the new studio from the ground up: reassembling equipment, reorganizing the new space and working tirelessly to get students back on air.
Even though she fought for this room, it was a change that worked out for the better.
“It’s a bigger space and I feel it has better energy as well,” said Haydar. “When there’s more open space, there’s more free flowing creative energy being able to bound off those walls and that’s what I really want.”
In October, WSFR was back on air and Haydar was finally able to continue operations as normal. Though, as the second semester rolled around, the pressure extended beyond the studio. As graduation approaches, Haydar finds herself juggling the demands of WSFR while completing a makeshift program requirement to fulfill her remaining credits.
On top of her 16 credit semester, she was asked to produce a newscast on the side, since a class she needed to graduate was cancelled for her final semester. Balancing both the radio station and this project proved to be one of the most challenging parts of her semester.
Heavy courseload and extracurriculars aside, Haydar always knew how to stay motivated with journalism.
“I think about the state of the world and how everything needs to be shared,” said Haydar. “What journalism needs is more people who just want to seek the truth, and the most objective truth that there is.”
Haydar has taken that philosophy and ran with it at Suffolk. However, looking back on her time in school, her experiences have not only shaped her GPA or the station, but herself. Her piece of advice for making it so far is simple, yet true: never give up.
“I’m going to walk across that stage and I’m going to feel so proud of myself because there have been so many moments where I was like, ‘I’m done,’” said Haydar. “I’m going to walk across that stage and I’m going to think I just conquered one of the biggest challenges: I just graduated college.”
She also credits the people who helped her along the way, pointing to her professors and mentors in the CJN department who supported all along.
“I think one thing that Leeza [Arakelian] definitely cemented into me, that I’m going to take with me for the rest of my life, is to always persevere,” said Haydar.
Haydar learned the true values of being a journalist and a young adult entering her professional life. Now that she prepares to graduate, Haydar leaves behind more than just a new studio space. She leaves a station that, just like her own path, was built on uncertainty and persistence.
When she walks across the stage, WSFR won’t just be a club she is leaving behind, it will stand as proof as everything she fought to hold together.
