Every time Andy Austin drives through Sanford, he feels a familiar spark—a connection that's drawn him back to his hometown after a successful broadcasting career that's taken him from Boston to Florida. Now, the Sanford High School graduate is a partner at Seacoast Oldies radio station, and he's creating opportunities for students that mirror the ones that changed his own life.
"No matter where I've been in life, every time I come into this place, this Sanford-Springvale area, even if I'm just driving through, it gives me a kick that I don't get anywhere else," said Austin, who graduated from SHS in 1993. "I just really feel a sense of belonging here."
That sense of belonging has deep roots. Austin's journey in broadcasting began at Sanford High School, where the media technology program offered him a fresh start during his high school years. "I found my lane within that opportunity where I'm going to spend half my day learning how to do radio, television, and print," he recalled.
The program transformed not just his career path but his entire academic trajectory. Austin remembers his English teacher telling the media instructor about his improvement: “I don't know what you're doing down here, but Austin could not string together two sentences at the beginning of this year, and now he's writing paragraphs.”
Now, Austin has returned home as a partner at Seacoast Oldies, where he's paying forward the opportunities he once received. Currently, he's mentoring two Sanford Regional Technical Center seniors, Aubrey Veilleux from Kennebunk and Lila Sprague from Wells, who are developing and producing their own sports broadcasting segments. Veilleux and Sprague got in the door at Seacoast Oldies with the help of SRTC Extended Learning Opportunities Coordinator Sally Quarles, who arranged the internship opportunity.
"What if we had students talking about students?" Austin said. "That lends a lot of credibility to it, and it gives them an amazing platform."
Veilleux and Sprague, who discovered their interest in broadcasting through James Harmon's Video Production class at SRTC, are already writing and voicing their own sports reports.
"In class, we would record teasers for the musicals, and we'd switch between different camera settings for the school recordings," Sprague said. "We only did it about three times, but every time they asked who wanted to do it, Aubrey and I would volunteer right away. When this opportunity came up, we really wanted to be part of it."
"I like the chance that we get to be on the radio and do all this research into sports and find so many different ways to say the same stuff each week," Veilleux added.
For Austin, this mentorship role represents more than just teaching broadcasting skills—it's about reinvesting in the community that gave him his start. "There's nothing like being involved in your community. There's nothing like being part of something bigger than yourself, where there's a positive change."
After three weeks of working with Veilleux and Sprague, Austin reflects on how the opportunity mirrors his own start in broadcasting through Sanford’s educational programs.
"I'm so blessed to have had and been able to achieve my childhood dreams through the work of people who believed in me in Sanford," he said. "And I want to give that back by creating opportunities for people interested in radio, TV, or digital media. That's what Seacoast Oldies is all about—reinvesting in our community."