‘MTSU On the Record’ highlights courageous students (+VIDEOS)

“MTSU On the Record,” the public affairs radio program that connects listeners with the campus community, brightens the holidays with stories of two inspiring college students.

Host Gina Logue’s interview with Kyla Hallums, whose education was interrupted by a life-threatening condition, will air from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 23, and from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org). (Watch an excerpt below.)

Hallums, a 20-year-old business management major from Lebanon, Tenn., was carrying her laundry from her apartment to her car on Sept. 1 when she collapsed.

Kyla Hallums

After being transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, doctors found a pulmonary embolism, a blockage of a major blood vessel in the lung, about 15 inches in length in both her left and right pulmonary arteries.

Although she missed the fall semester due to her illness, Hallums is eager to resume her studies with the spring 2014 semester beginning in January.

“God pulled me through this, and I honestly think that’s the only reason that I made it, that and all the support of all my friends and loved ones,” said Hallums.

Logue’s interview with Malcolm Stallard, president of the Blue Raider American Veterans Organization, or BRAVO, was scheduled to air Dec. 30 and Jan. 5 but was pre-empted for a basketball postgame show. (Watch an excerpt below.)

Malcolm Stallard

Stallard, a sophomore social work major from Manchester, Tenn., who served in Iraq from 2009 to 2010 and has served in the U.S. Army since 2008, strives to help veterans who are negotiating the transition from military service to college education obtain access to the resources they need.

Speaking about how his military experience has changed him as a person, Stallard said, “I focus more on others. I guess I learned that because of taking care of my soldiers. I want to provide the best training and also the best education for them, and I find myself doing that here at MTSU as well.”

To listen to previous “MTSU On the Record” programs, go to the “Audio Clips” archives at http://www.mtsunews.com.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

—Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)