Donna Jones at Radio One DJ booth.
With more than 33 years working with University of Otago students, Donna Jones has attended more twenty-firsts and weddings than she can count.
The Otago University Students’ Association Secretary and Corporate Support Manager says she has the best job in the world and just loves coming to the office every day and working with many of the leaders of tomorrow.
“It’s such a pleasure to work with so many lovely, caring people. We have so many volunteers who work here for the love, but they keep things ticking over,” Donna says.
Donna’s family didn’t study at Otago, and she completed her business degree at Otago Polytechnic part-time, as she says she’s more a “hands on” person than an academic.
Amongst the hundreds of students that she has seen come through Radio One was Tom Tremewan (BA in Communications, 2013).
“I worked closely with Tom. He left just recently, he was the Promotions and Programme Manager for Radio One (2013-2023). A super-lovely young man. He's gone on to be the general manager of the Auckland University, 95 B FM radio station.”
Legendary Radio One DJ Andy Flyboy.
“Another fine lovely woman, Lesley was Radio One manager for many years, she’s also a musician, and she’s now station manager at Dunedin Access radio.”
Meanwhile, former Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins (BA, 2007) was a morning DJ on Radio One for many years before entering politics.
“They all bring such passion to their work, Sean Norling, a Radio One manager for many years, also set up a radio station in the Solomon Islands,” she says.
“Well, I work closely with them because of the position of my office and so on, and I really admire what they do. I enjoy seeing the students come in and use the studio for recording. And so, I'm closely situated with the manager's office and the staff, so it means that we can liaise a lot. Yeah, and I enjoy what they do in Critic too.”
Radio One recently celebrated its fortieth anniversary, which Donna says was a great success and a chance for some of the station’s many former staff to reminisce about the old days.
Other members of the Radio One alumni include RNZ’s Bonnie Harrison (BA/LLB) and Wallace Chapman (BA, Diploma in Education), Newshub Live Anchor Sam Hayes, Shayne Carter from Kiwi band Straitjacket Fits, former BBC correspondent Charlotte Glennie (BA/LLB) and Dunedin Sound’s Sneaky Feelings member and current NZ High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives David Pine (BA Hons, LLB).
Wallace Chapman at Radio One in March 1996.