With countless great stories across the North Central College campus and the wider Cardinal community, we’ve created a new way to share them.
Welcome to 1861, the North Central College Podcast
Join us on this journey. Let’s see where it leads. A liberal arts education is about examining diverse perspectives, asking questions, and engaging in dialogue, so we’ll aim to have conversations that will get you thinking — inspire and challenge you. Maybe even smile ... or laugh.
Whether you are a current or prospective student, faculty or staff member, alum, friend or fan, we hope you enjoy a bird’s-eye view of what makes North Central College special.
Growing up as a Cubs fan in west suburban Chicago, Wayne Randazzo dreamed of a career in the big leagues. But rather than on the field, he wanted to be in the booth calling games like Chicago legends Pat Hughes, Harry Caray, and Steve Stone. North Central’s award-winning, student-run radio station, WONC, proved to be the perfect sandbox for Randazzo to hone his craft as a live play-by-play announcer for Cardinal athletics and co-hosting weekly sports talk shows. Today, Randazzo is living the dream as the TV play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels and for Apple TV’s “Friday Night Baseball.”
Listen along as Randazzo talks about the realization of his childhood dream and how North Central played a critical role in helping him get there. He also shares a few career highlights (like calling slugger Albert Pujols’s 700th career home run on national TV) and offers advice for aspiring broadcasters looking to break through in today’s media landscape.
Al Carius H ’06 and Frank “Grammy” Gramarosso are two of the most accomplished coaches in the nation. Together, as stewards of the North Central College cross country and track & field programs, they won a combined 31 NCAA Division III team national championships – 19 in cross country and 12 in indoor and outdoor track & field. At the center of that success was a focus on student-athletes and a commitment not just to winning, but to winning the right way: by putting the athlete before the sport.
Listen along as Al and Grammy relive some of their rich history of coaching success, their commitment to North Central College as a “special kind of place,” and the legacy that carries on at North Central and at schools across the country through their alumni coaching family tree.
Four years ago, on “Decision Day” at her high school, Olivia Rosenberg '25 was wearing spirit wear for a big state school she planned to attend in the fall. Six months later, she found that college environment wasn't a good fit for her.
After transferring to North Central College, Olivia has never looked back. She talks about majoring in communication studies and sociology, competing as part of North Central's "Sonata Problem" a cappella group, conducting original research about female executives in the workplace, and more. Besides reflecting on the opportunities she's had as a Cardinal — from pre-professional experiences to making connections — Olivia also shares her interesting take on the pressures around making a college decision.
