On A Journey to Share Stories: Indigenous Student Receives Radio Journalism Award

SLCC student Valene Peratrovich and KRCL's Lara Jones collaborated to produce an award-winning show.

The Radio and TV Production student Valene Peratrovich took first place at the Utah’s Society of Professional Journalist Headliners Awards in June for best "public affairs talk show" with Lara Jones, executive producer of KRCL's RadioACTive.

The award-winning talk show was a Thanksgiving special that Valene hosted and largely produced that included local indigenous leaders and community members who “explored the truths” about the holiday.

“I’m honored by this award, but I just got lucky with the incredible panel involved, who were so honest and truthful. They were the magic. At the end, all five of us were ‘whoa.’ It just felt like magic,” says Valene, who is Tlingit - Eagle Clan, Unungan + Athabascan, from the Anchorage, Alaska area.

The panelists could speak personally to the Native American experience, all of whom are part of the SLCC community. The panelists included:

• Nathan Cole is a professor of English and faculty advisor of the American Indian Student Leadership club at SLCC. He also  teaches a Native American Literature & Experience class.
• Orville Cayaditto is the director of Native American student success at SLCC and staff advisor to American Indian Student Leadership club at SLCC.
• James Courage Singer is a professor of Native American Ethnic Studies at SLCC and a local activist.
• Cynthia Sharma is a student and former president of SLCC’s Pre-Medical Professions Club.

Valene’s talent was recognized by Lara, when she wrote a story on Native American mascots for one of her classes that was then published in The Salt Lake Tribune through SLCC’s collaboration with Amplify Utah. Lara asked her to come speak on the topic on RadioACTive, a KRCL talk show.

“Val didn’t hesitate when I asked her if she wanted to do the Thanksgiving show,” recalls Lara. “She has great instincts, draws people into the conversations, and her background brings a richness to what she does.”

“In radio being a moderator usually doesn’t happen until you have years of experience but Lara was taking a gamble on me,” says Valene, who is now hosting the Living the Circle of Life show, which focuses on Indigenous music and topics, on KRCL Sunday mornings.

Understanding Her Own Story

Valene didn’t always want to be a storyteller. She says it was one of her “faith steps” that have helped her discover this passion to tell stories. “I took the scenic route to figure out what I wanted to do,” says Valene, with a laugh. Originally, her plan was to go to medical school on a prestigious full-ride scholarship, after earning her Bachelor of Science degree in human development and family sciences at Oregon State University in 2017.

“I didn’t realize that when you leave home, is really when you start processing trauma. College was an escape for me from a tumultuous household,” recalls Valene.

“I had to use education to break cycles,” says Valene, who is the mother of two sons. Since she has come to understand the stresses her family and ancestors endured, she also can draw from their strength to endure. Both her grandmothers had been taken away from their families and put in boarding schools, enduring abuse and severe discrimination.

When her maternal grandmother shared some of her own story about how she was treated, it helped Valene understand how sharing stories heals. “It brought compassion and understanding to why she treats us this way. She was never treated with love and was always in survival mode. To see what it did to her spirit, it gave me the clarity I needed to understand my family.”

Valene says she pursed the human development degree in Oregon to better understand her own human experience and to heal, and she came SLCC to learn how to be a storyteller. She admits there have been challenges along the way, including a thyroid cancer diagnosis, but her desire to share stories and the on-going, gentle encouragement of her professors have kept her moving forward.

Her next step? After graduating this summer with an AAS in radio and TV production, Valene plans to pursue an AAS in film production at SLCC. She smiles, “It’s another one of those faith steps.”