As the Media Services department prepares for another weekly chapel service, Wesley Curell is on the scene meticulously checking each of many moving parts in the audio setup. From checking and rechecking the battery packs for each of the people on stage to booting up the racks, Curell must make certain that every piece of his detailed audio puzzle fits together perfectly to ensure that chapel service runs smoothly.
Wesley Curell
Wesley Curell is a senior majoring in Multimedia Communication at Olivet Nazarene University. Curell has a passion for live audio management, and he is pursuing this work through his involvement in Media Services and Olivet Ministry Teams. Within the Media Services community, Curell has become the go-to guy for live audio at events. Although he was not initially a part of the Communication Department, his involvement in the Media Services department quickly swayed him to change his major.
Audio Work
Of the many opportunities and options that a career in media offers, Curell gravitates toward live audio because he finds it to be “the closest to reality.” Since his specialization in the Media Services is live audio, Curell is often presented with opportunities to work live events at Olivet. These events can range from weekly chapel services and admissions events to outside artist feature concerts.
Although audio plays an important part of these live events, there are also many other media service pieces that are required to smoothly orchestrate these occasions. To learn more about the other important positions and roles within Media Services, read Tad Martinson Finds a Passion for Sports Media in Media Services and Tyler Controls Lighting & Sound. For more general information about Media Services, read Katie DeVries Finds Her Voice and Vision Through Media Services.
Additionally, Curell works as the audio technician for The Narrow, one of the Olivet Ministry Teams. This means that he does everything from working when they sing in chapel services to traveling with the team on weekends.
Media Services and the Communication Department
Wesley Curell began his time at Olivet as a Computer Science major, but he quickly realized that his calling was elsewhere. When his friend Chase DeMott asked him to work the audio for Media Services his sophomore year, Curell did not expect that he would find his life calling. As previously mentioned, when Curell realized his love for live audio management, he switched his major to general Multimedia Communication, and found himself a part of the Olivet Communication Department.
Although Curell does not regret changing his major, he does feel that the Communication Department lacks a suitable focus for his personal passions specific to live audio.
However, Curell feels that when paired with the hands-on and fast-paced practical learning environment that Media Services gives him, his education has set him up well for future success in the live audio management field. Curell says that his classes within the Communication Department “teach the basic information to be just enough to be dangerous, and they give a nice foundation to go from.”
