Matthew Tuszynski ’10

When the time came for San Diego native Matthew Tuszynski ’10 to declare his undergraduate major, he first thought about what he loved doing.

“I said, well, I love doing video work, so maybe I’ll check out the TV/Radio Department,” he remembers. He also loved his Catholic faith, so he double-majored in Communication Arts (Radio/TV) and Theology.

Starting with what he loved led to a career in doing what he loves: Tuszynski now holds his “dream job” as an audio engineer for Catholic Answers in his hometown of San Diego.

“It was the perfect combination of majors for what I went into,” says Matthew. Day in and day out, he uses the skills he learned at Franciscan to manage equipment and assist in production for a two-hour, question-and-answer live radio show that airs on more than 250 stations.

Technically speaking, it’s not always a simple job. “Things go wrong all the time in this field,” he says, adding that employers want to hire people who not only can operate the equipment but can fix problems and figure out what they don’t already know.

Those troubleshooting skills, Matthew says, are ones he began honing as an undergraduate by immersing himself in the equipment and software available in the labs, and by not being afraid to ask for help from his professors.

“Radio/TV at Franciscan is a very self-motivating program,” he explains. “It has all the opportunities for a student to get really good in this field. But you have to go after it!

Tuszynski says that a motivated student who takes advantage of the opportunities at Franciscan—using the technology, learning the software, working behind-the-scenes for programs like Franciscan University Presents—will be well prepared to enter the work world.

Not only skill-wise, but also, on a deeper level, Matthew says, Franciscan’s program offers the unique dimension of schooling students in faith alongside academics.

“In this program, you can build technical skills, and also form yourself as a person,” he says. “It’s a great starting point for your life.”