Thomas Ouellette

Reporter/Producer

Thomas graduated with a bachelor’s in mass communications from the University of South Florida in Tampa in May 2023. During his education, he took part in an internship with WESH 2 News and WUSF, an NPR member station in Tampa. After graduating, he also took part in NPR Next Generation workshop. It is a week-long intensive program where accepted applicants are paired up with seasoned professionals and are tasked with producing a non-narrated story. During the program Thomas worked alongside digital artists and experienced sound editors. The program teaches its participants about all of the obstacles that you will have to overcome in the field and how to overcome them.

What drew Thomas to radio is the personability it encompasses. He believe’s that it is the only medium where you can make listeners feel like you are talking to them directly. “Radio also has longer deadlines than something like TV does, meaning that you get more time to analyze and really understand the material you are writing about,” said Ouellette. His favorite news outlet is NPR, more specifically their show “The American Life.” He aspires to host a show like that one day.

In his downtime, Thomas spends a lot of time with his biggest hobby and passion, Dungeons and Dragons. He enjoys everything from reading the books to painting miniatures. He also still actively DMs for a group that has been playing for over four years.

A unique fact about Thomas is that he performed in the Candlelight Processional at Epcot in 2017. It was one of his favorite performances he’s done. The former Florida resident’s dream travel destination is New Zealand. “I am a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan and would love nothing more than to visit the place that it was filmed,” said Ouellette.