Marble Falls graduate, marketing major sounds off as co-host of financial radio show

DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE EDITOR

SAN MARCOS — Marble Falls High School graduate Taylor Yates never aspired to be on the radio during her Texas State University studies in marketing, but, this fall, she landed a co-hosting spot on the college radio station.

The program, called CA$H Radio, focuses on economic, business, entrepreneurial, financial and related issues, often touching on local, national and international content. As a marketing major with a sales concentration, Yates never imagined herself on the airwaves.

“We had to try out for it,” said the 2011 Marble Falls graduate. “I was pretty nervous because I’m kind of a quiet person. But, on the radio show, I have to take a stand. So it’s helped me in that way. I’m more willing to voice my opinions.”

CA$H Radio, which airs on KTSW 89.9 every Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., is part of Texas State’s effort to promote entrepreneurial and business skills. The project falls under the Students in Free Enterprise and ENACTUS programs.

ENACTUS is a global, nonprofit organization that is helping change the world through students on more than 1,600 university campuses. It gives them the opportunity to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise. Through those students, millions of people get a chance at improving their standards of living.

The radio show is only part of the exploration of the business field by Yates and her fellow SIFE students.

“We do a lot of different activities so that we get an actual understanding about business and finances,” Yates said. Last year, she was a member of a team that helped a local family-owned and -operated restaurant. While Texas State students have a plethora of food choices on and near campus, this restaurant wasn’t one of them. So the SIFE students offered to sell the restaurant’s tacos on campus.

“We raised about $100,000 last year in tacos,” Yates said.

The student organization only retains a small percentage of the income with the rest going back to the business. The students also helped raise money this year for the nonprofit Mobile Loaves and Fishes, which is a social-outreach ministry set up to help the homeless. Yates and other students sold water during an Austin concert series to help the organization.

She also took part in the creation and completion of a commercial for Chuck Nash Buick in San Marcos.

“We’re taking the skills and things we learn in class and putting them to use for businesses and organizations,” Yates said. “So we get to help the community, but we’re also learning a lot about how economics and business works.”

No place is that put to the test more than during her one-hour CA$H Radio broadcast.

“We get into some good debates about ethics in business and other things,” Yates said. “It gets us talking about the world. Part of getting ready for the show means reading up and paying attention to current events.”

Along with as challenging herself, Yates hopes the show gets listeners and fellow students interested in financial, economic and business issues. While people might not understand those types of issues, she pointed out the economy impacts everyone’s lives on some level.

Though she doesn’t expect to go into a radio career, Yates believes the time on CA$H Radio and her involvement in SIFE definitely gives her an edge.

“It’s just been a great opportunity to learn and apply the things I’m learning,” she said. “Through ENACTUS, we’re taking those skills and helping other people.”

daniel@thepicayune.com