WBDT-TV has picked their 24 semi-finalists for the new face of its station, Dayton’s CW. Sinclair Community College students Kathryn Day, Tyler Lukacs, Cassidy Short and Nicholas Youngerman are competing via online votes for the 10th finalist position. Ruth Long and DaVon Clark, who will be returning to Sinclair spring quarter, have also been chosen.
The top 10 finalists will be competing for a part time position at Dayton CW and will be compensated with a $20,000 contract, according to Shasta Scarberry, WBDT-TV brand manager.
“We’re looking for someone to be the face of Dayton’s CW and represent the station on-air, online and in the community,” Scarberry said in a press release. “We have a strong group of candidates and we are excited to see who will be our first Dayton’s CW Star.”
The TV station hosted two open auditions, narrowing down their candidates to nine finalists and letting the community choose the 10th, according to Scarberry.
Voting commenced on Feb. 7 and will end on Feb. 20 at 11:59 p.m. To vote, viewers must watch their candidates audition video all the way through.
Once the finalists are chosen, they will be given a variety of tasks, from promotional events to a make-over, to help decide who will be the first Dayton’s CW Star, according to Scarberry.
To cast your vote, visit www.daytonscw.com and click on CW Star. Scroll down the list of names, make your selection and watch the video all the way through. Partial viewing will not be credited.
Visit www.daytonscw.com to cast your vote now.
More information about Sinclair students Kathryn Day and Tyler Lukacs can be seen below.
Kathryn Day Profile
Super silly, goofy and maybe even the slightest bit dorky is how Kathryn Day said she describes herself. This petite girl walks into a room bursting with energy and a big smile on her face.
“Somehow all of these work for me and it comes out that I’m hip and cool,” she said.
Day, a Communication/Public Relations major, said she works in promotions helping to get DJ’s and famous talent to the area trying to keep Dayton somewhat “on the map.”
“It’s a small city compared to Cincinnati and Columbus where they get all the big headlining DJ’s and all the big celebrities,” Day said. “But Dayton has helped bring a lot of the talent to Cincinnati and to Columbus.”
Her job has enabled her to encounter multiple celebrities and even get some interviews with headlining DJ’s from all over the world. She’s also taken some time to learn the turntables herself which landed her some of her own gigs.
Creating free events, such as “Sunday Fun Day @ Sound Garden,” to keep the community together is what Day said she is passionate about.
The event started off to get friends and family together who are no longer able to get out on the weekends, and, from word of mouth, turned into an event that hosted around 250 people, according to Day. They brought out electronic music DJ’s and had everyone bring their children to play in the park.
“It started out in a small park in Miamisburg where we set up some house speakers,” Day said. “That spun off and we found a community art park, it’s called Garden Station in downtown Dayton, and we started having it there last summer.”
The passion and light that comes out when speaking about something she’s interested is what she said draws people to her.
“People naturally can’t help but to get excited about it because I have so much energy,” Day said. “You know how people say when you walk into a room and you become the center of attention. It’s not intentional at all. It’s just my personality. I’m a ball of energy and very excited about the things that I talk about.”
Tyler Lukacs
Being on the spot in front of people is not something Tyler Lukacs is afraid of. Actually, he has been doing it since he’s been a kid.
“I used to do stand up comedy in elementary school,” Lukacs said. “One little person skits.”
Lukacs, a Visual Communications Major, has been at Sinclair for three years and said he has taken almost every single class in the art department.
“What can I say,” he said. “I just keep on coming back for more.”
When he’s not studying, Lukacs is busy serving people at the Funny Bone where he works and gets to meet some pretty famous comedians.
“My favorite was probably Bert Kreischer,” he said. “He was a really cool dude.”
Although this is Lukacs’ first experience with anything to do with being in front of the camera, he said it has always been a dream of his. If he is chosen for the next Dayton CW star he said he wants to focus on getting the stories out that show a different perspective of the area.
“A lot of people say Dayton is dead and I’ve said it too,” he said. “But I think maybe I can get the underground stories that are emerging with music, art and stuff that are bringing Dayton kind of back to life. Letting it grow more.”
In the scarce free time that he does get, Lukacs said he likes to draw, paint and play music. He attends art exhibits frequently and tries to get out to see live music whenever he gets the chance.
He started playing the bass guitar after some friends convinced him to learn so that he would join their band, according to Lukacs.
“Right now, I’m in between bands, so if anyone needs a bass player, let me know,” he said laughing.
Overall, Lukacs said he thinks he is a “pretty cool dude” and that because of his outgoing personality, this job would be perfect for him.
“I like being the center of attention and making people laugh,” he said.