Carlos Cuevas is the goodwill ambassador for Kool 101.5 FM in Calgary. He has been with the station since before it went on the air more than three years ago.
How did you become the goodwill ambassador?
I was thinking on my way to work, and I thought what is the use in having two station vehicles parked at the station if we’re not using them … I walked into the station and I said that to my promo director and I asked her what do you think about booking hours for the street team to go out and about on three-hour times and, basically, if they see someone with a flat tire help them, if they see someone with a broken-down vehicle give them shelter, if they see someone stuck pull them out of the ditch, something like that … Three weeks later, they brought me into a meeting and I was literally scared out of my face … and they said you do it as a full-time job. It really caught me off guard and I wasn’t expecting it and I just burst into tears.
Your job is basically to go around and help people and make people feel good. How awesome is that?
It’s something that I don’t feel fair to call a job. When they hired me, they told me just go outside, grab a microphone and be yourself. I think anybody could do that. I don’t think it’s fair for me to call it a job, just because it’s fun. It doesn’t feel like work.
Coming from Mexico, what’s kept you in Calgary?
When I got here and I decided to transfer all my documents and become a full-time student, it was because back home in Mexico I was travelling a lot and I was going around trying to find myself and trying to find me, a place that I could actually call home and I felt that I belonged. Oddly enough, I’ve found that in a country away from home.
If you had to give Calgarians tips on being Kool, what tips would you give people?
Just be yourself, listen to the tunes that make you feel right and do everything that you’ve always wanted to do without looking back at what the consequences are.
