Jim O'Hara has long had two intertwining passions: one for music performance, and another for learning how things work. It makes sense that he inevitably found his way to WFUV, where he works tirelessly as the Technical Director of Live Music.

As a child, Jim was surrounded by music: with both a father and a sister who are pianists, there is musical gene carried through his family, which was seen in him at a young age. Radio was something special to Jim; he recalls listening to Cousin Brucie with his father, and later, to Ceol na nGael on FUV with his entire family. When it came time for Jim to attend college, it came as no surprise that an excellent college radio station would be a dominating factor in his decision - and even less of a surprise that he chose Fordham. Beginning as an intern (answering phones for Ceol na nGael), Jim found his way into an FUV engineering workshop, choosing audio as his pursuit.

After graduation Jim worked at ABC Radio and ESPN as an engineer for nationally syndicated shows, including Sunday Night Baseball, before making his way back to FUV. Now, as Associate Director of Technical Operations, Jim oversees the audio and video production of live in-studio music performances, Marquee member shows, and other live broadcasts. Additionally, Jim provides tremendous services to students by training and supervising the student video and audio engineering staff, giving them hands-on opportunities to do exactly the work he has enjoyed for years.

Jim's accomplishments affect just about every aspect of FUV, in ways that most listeners may not realize. The continued excellence in quality of FUV audio and video content (including more than 16 million views per year on YouTube), which listeners have come to love, is owed entirely to Jim and the student staff he has trained. Jim still maintains that his greatest pleasure is the shock on someone's face when they are told the majority of WFUV content is produced by 18-to-21-year-old students who only began their training a year or two ago.

According to Jim, choosing musical "favorites" isn't easy, and his are constantly in flux, having varied quite a bit since listening to Cousin Brucie with his father. Although at one point a self-proclaimed "metalhead," Jim admits that FUV has exposed him to artists of all genres. While his favorites now range anywhere from Metallica to the Indigo Girls, Jim maintains that his all-time favorite album is still The Cure's Disintegration - though that, of course, could change if you ask him tomorrow.