Friend Weller

When his dad said “Don’t play with that old radio, you’re going to get shocked”, 10-year-old Friend Weller was certainly looking out for his own best interests. What was at the time an elementary-school-aged hobby soon turned into a life-long career decision. Friend has worked professionally for nearly three decades as a radio announcer and engineer in both commercial and public radio. He came to Utah State University over 30 years ago, beginning his career in radio at KUSU-FM as a student in 1981, and graduating in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Speech. After stints at radio stations all over northern Utah; Friend came to Utah Public Radio with 28 years of broadcast experience and nearly 35 years in electronics and sound reinforcement. He has worked in small settings as well as crewing for arena-sized venues and everything in between focusing on broadcasting, sound, lighting and other specialties. He is a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers holding the rank of Certified Radio Broadcast Engineer.