USD Magazine, Spring 1993

Eric England (left) and Chris McNulty (in the Santa cap) pose with fellow KNOM stall members.

and England call "spots"-short public service announcements meant to educate and inspire. "KNOM's purpose is not to force reli– gion down listeners' throats," McNulty explains. "It's more about sending out a positive message. The harshness of daily life lends to the social problems, such as alcoholism and child abuse, facing rural Alaskans. So if I can bring an upbeat mes– sage to people-no matter how small it is-I feel I'm contributing." England also finds inspiration at the XYZ (Extra Years of Zest), a day center for Eskimo seniors where he volunteers three times a week. "It's intriguing to realize how much the Eskimo Elders value their cultural heritage and try to pass it on to their children," he says. "To someone living in the 'Lower 48,' as Alaskans call the rest of the United States, the lifestyles of these people may seem dull and perhaps even backward. But I don't think that is true; their lives are wonderfully simple." Although Nome is not the picturesque Alaska you might find in a travel brochure, England and McNulty have rel– ished many of the area's natural wonders. "When this place is blanketed with snow and contrasted against the periwinkle sky, it's beautiful, and the Northern Lights are absolutely amazing," McNulty says. Another of Alaska's natural wonders, the winter solstice, wasn't so amazing. "It can be rough during the winter months,'' McNulty admits. "Just imagine living with fewer than three hours of daylight. I was eating lunch before the sun came up and going home after it had already set." "When the sun did finally come up, it was like the happy vitamin was loose in town," England adds. Although both England and McNulty will be moving on to graduate school next year, they say their experience in Alaska will always be with them. "I'll head out of Nome," says England, " but I will have a piece of this place in my heart, and I'll be leaving a part of myself here." *The Jesuit Volunteer Corps is run by the priests of the Society of Jesus. Students join the corps upon graduation and are sent to different sites throughout the United States.

THE SUN ALSO RISES (BUT ONLY IN SUMMEID: Chris McNulty and Eric England Eric England '92 says you have to believe in the power of coincidence. After all, he argues, he and fellow USD alum Chris McNulty '92, are the prime example of a "cosmic co-inky dink." "Here we are, two guys from Col– orado, who as freshmen came to USD without knowing each other. We take on similar studies (England majored in English and economics while McNulty majored in economics and minored in English), and now we find ourselves liv– ing and working together in Northwest Alaska." It's even stranger when you learn that England and McNulty both work under the auspices of the Jesuit Volun– teer Corps as disc jockeys at one of the only two radio stations within a 200- mile radius-Nome's KNOM-and nei– ther had a lick of prior radio experience. "That's one of the appeals of the JVC," says McNulty. "You get placed in jobs that would otherwise not be avail– able right out of school. It makes for a great experience." "Great" wasn't one of the words that popped into the young men's minds when they arrived in Nome last August. They ventured to Alaska with visions of

the "last frontier" in their minds and were rudely awakened when they landed in the small town on the Bering Sea coast-nearer to the Russian Far East than the Mainland USA. "This is tundra country," England explains. "It was a bit difficult to adjust to both the small-town lifestyle and the vastly different land and seascapes up here. There are no trees, and during this thawing time of year Nome is virtually an enormous mud puddle. "In the town, things are pretty run down, and there are a few eyesores in some parts," he adds. "But the country– side is uniquely beautiful, both at minus-40 degrees in the winter and now at 40 degrees during spring." Nine months after landing in Nome, England knows it wasn't a mistake to go there. "Living in a town with no movie theater, where the outbound road mean– ders only 70 miles, and where one of the town's highlights is an annual bathtub race down Front Street might sound rough-and it was, at times. But this whole experience has been rewarding. You discover and make your own fun, and develop your interests." McNulty says what drew him to Nome was the chance to "get involved in a rural community through radio." In addition to playing "every type of music you can imagine, including traditional native songs," McNulty airs what he

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