Cool Cat: Gracen Bayer

Interview by Joseph Stranger | Photos by Tiffany Phung

For some, creative pursuits are more of a hobby, but for sophomore film production major Gracen Bayer, it’s a life-bringing endeavor. Originally from Alabama, Bayer has won awards for film work, started up her own personal photography business and works as the social media manager for 88.1 ‘the Burg. Here’s why you should know this Cool Cat:

How are you enjoying your time at Central?

I’m enjoying it a lot. I got lucky and all my classes are in person. Last year they were all online, so It’s been very different in a very good way. I’m very lucky to be back on campus and being able to interact with people, especially in an academic environment. It’s just been really helpful. It’s definitely helped my emotional state, too, so I’m having a very good time.

What got you interested in radio?

I’ve always really liked music, and the thought of working at a radio station sounded really fun. I listened to 88.1 the ‘Burg for a while and so, I thought it would just be a fun place. I also moved onto campus spring quarter and there wasn’t too much to do, and I thought the radio station would be a cool outlet to express creativity but also make new connections. It’s been really great. It’s given me a lot of opportunities that I couldn’t even dream of beforehand. I’ve just made so many connections and so many doors have opened up because of it. I’m really grateful that I joined, and I think that it was definitely a highlight of my first year at Central.

How did you get your photography business started?

I started photography about five or six years ago. I just bought myself a camera for my birthday and I taught myself everything from YouTube. Which is really nice. That was definitely a perk of growing up with social media. I started just doing shoots for fun. I just took pictures with my sister and took pictures with my friends and it was all for fun. I decided to take senior photos one summer when a family reached out to me and it kind of started there. I did senior photos. I’ve done more editorial shoots now, I do cap and gown pics and it’s been really great transitioning that into CWU’s campus as well. So, I do grad photos, and Ellensburg is just a really cool place to take photos.

Do you have any inspirations or people you look up to?

I look up to all women in radio. All successful women in radio. I think radio is a very hard industry, especially hard for women. So, I very much look up to everyone that’s made it and everyone that’s persevered within the radio realm. Same within the film realm, with more popular female directors like Chloe Zhao and Greta Gerwig. I very much look up to them as inspirations. They’re just people who make me feel like it’s worth it, all the hard work.

What do you normally do in your free time?

Besides [radio and photography], I really love creating in any way that I can, whether that’s painting or making collages, or going out to shoot photos. I love doing that. I think just having an outlet that helps me unwind and take my mind off of things while also creating, it makes me feel very at peace.