On his LSU web page, John Friscia’s official job title reads “Director, Student Media.” However, this label doesn’t even begin to capture the passion and care he has devoted to generations of students over the past 26 years.
John Friscia is set to retire at the end of the summer, and while his radio knowledge and engineering skills will be missed, what LSU students say they’ll miss most is having a trustworthy, understanding mentor they can turn to for advice beyond student media.
Alissa Clemmons, a senior at LSU and KLSU’s marketing manager, says Friscia’s mentorship has not only deepened her understanding of radio, but has also inspired her to pursue the things she truly loves in life.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned and respect about Friscia is that you can have a job you’re passionate about,” Clemmons said. “You can really be happy working with people, finding something you love and building a community, and that’s kind of what he does.”
Cade Williams, KLSU’s station manager from fall 2024 to spring 2025, worked with Friscia on a daily basis to keep KLSU running. To Williams, Friscia served as both a leader and a valued friend.
“He’s been a great mentor for me,” Williams said. “He’s always been very supportive and respectful to the ideas I’ve had for the station. And we also are just like friends and, you know, we cut it up and laugh and such.”
Although beloved for it, John Friscia did not start out in the advising business. He was born and raised in New York, and his adoration for music inspired him to pursue a degree in broadcast engineering. Following graduation, he worked for about three years with Jive Records as a maintenance engineer before accepting a job at the United Nations headquarters. After eight years as a broadcast engineer at the UN, he accepted his current position at LSU and moved to Louisiana.
“I remember reading an article one time that said the majority of people are born, live their life, work and die within like a 50 mile radius of where they were born,” John Friscia said. “And I thought, like, that’s not going to be me. I wanted to do something different.”
At LSU, John Friscia has done just that. The dedication he puts into his job does not go unnoticed, and his impact within the student media community is deeply felt. During KLSU’s annual fundraiser week Friscia regularly arrives in early in the morning and stays until around midnight, toting with him positive energy and snacks for all the workers. Barbara Friscia, John Friscia’s wife, has watched him fall in love with student media over the years. She says he shows his devotion by always being available when students need him.
“That phone rings, and he’s on it,” Barbara Friscia said. “It doesn’t matter the day, the time, nothing. He will answer that phone. He doesn’t get paid for that call either. It’s just what he does.”
Listening to his students and giving them the opportunity to improve the station are two of his top priorities. In just the past year John Friscia has worked closely with KLSU staff to design a new website, redecorate the music room and set up a podcast studio in the basement of Hodges Hall.
In addition to his dedication to KLSU, Friscia is responsible for many projects that do not revolve around the radio station. He repairs the equipment and cameras for all sections of student media and was a driving force behind the Tiger TV studio upgrades, even going so far as to help hand-paint their green screen.
“He really prides himself on the upgrades and the work he’s done to give the students real places that look like they would in the workforce,” Barbara Friscia said. “He truly loves that.”
Although he is KLSU’s advisor, he makes sure to check-in with other student media organizations, offering help where it is needed. Ryan McCray-Smith, an LSU junior and editor of the Gumbo yearbook, says he looks forward to management’s weekly meetings with Friscia because he always makes sure to check-in on the students’ well-being.
“I cherish those conversations because he seems like an adult in a school position that actually cares,” McCray-Smith said.
The community John Friscia has built spans far beyond current LSU students. He has stayed in touch with many alumni over the years and makes an effort to catch up with them whenever possible.
Jack Hopper is one of many alumni who has maintained a close relationship with John Friscia. Hopper worked at KLSU from 2016 to 2019 and held positions as both a specialty show DJ and music director. He says Friscia made an immediate impression on him because of the way he showed genuine interest in each students’ life.
“He was one of the first people I met besides the production manager that interviewed me, and he established really quick that it was a family I was becoming a part of,” Hopper said. “He was kind of one of the first people that made it feel so welcome. He was just this rare example of an adult who always had really good advice to give, but he also treated you like an equal.”
This impression lasted after graduation, and the two have remained in touch ever since. Their relationship meant so much to Hopper that he mailed John Friscia a letter asking him to officiate his marriage to his then fiancé, who he also met through KLSU. Friscia called him back during one of his routine bike rides and said he would be more than willing.
“He took it very seriously, and I think everyone could tell when our wedding day rolled around that this was someone important to us, and he really made so much of that wedding what it was,” Hopper said.
James Lloyd is another KLSU alumnus who’s maintained a relationship with John Friscia- the two now work in adjoining offices, in even closer proximity than during their time at KLSU. Lloyd was station manager for over two years and is now LSU’s student media office coordinator and Gumbo advisor.
“He’s got some fantastic stories, not only about LSU, but about his life in general,” Lloyd said. “I’ve known him for seven years now, and I’m really going to miss him.”
John Friscia’s work is motivated by his love for helping students, and he will miss his relationships with them the most when he retires. His advice to the next director of student media and the station’s advisor is to get to know the humans of KLSU and wider student media.
“I took over for an advisor who didn’t really care, and it was just a job for him,” Friscia said. “I would say that’s a mistake because there are some fantastic people that you meet coming through here, and the reason I’ve stayed this long is because of the students. Your passion is infectious.”
