In the basement of Albright College’s Memorial Chapel, there was a small makeshift radio studio. The equipment was outdated and the furniture was army-issue. The studio would constantly flood. An unknown vandal would leave graffiti all over the room. It was the early 2000s, and Mindy Cohen had a lot of work on her hands.

“There was too much sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll going on,” Cohen said about the downfall of WXAC.

Cohen sports a toothy smile and electric-blue hair, freshly dyed and cut by her husband. Behind her are hundreds of books on shelves, a sugar skull portrait, and a few colorful papier-mâché birds. Sitting in her home office-space, Cohen reminisces about her childhood.

“There was always a pot of coffee. If students wanted to play a game, my parents would play,” she said. “Our house was a hangout. Everybody loved being there. My parents were very progressive.”

Cohen grew up in Brooklyn with her two parents and her brother. Her mother was a teacher and her father a businessman. 

“Even though he was a businessman, he never put money above family or fun. ... We had a very comfortable life,” Cohen said. 

Though her life was simple as a child, Cohen’s years of young adulthood were anything but. When she was 18 years old, Cohen backpacked through Europe alone. At 19, she lived in New Mexico for one year.

In her 20s, she lived in Manhattan across from Central Park and performed stand-up comedy around the city. Cohen also dabbled in acting, starring in music videos and commercials. These small gigs gave her enough money to keep living in the city. 

She would spend time at Electric Lady Studios with her brother Gary Corbett, a Grammy-winning musician. Unlike many teens and young fans at the time, Cohen got to meet The Rolling Stones. 

Her brother’s connections in the industry led to interviews with well-known musicians. She started off as an amateur, not knowing where these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities would take her. The interviews did not come easily either.

“You’re going in there and their guard is down,” Cohen said. “So when you’re doing that interview, you get an interview that no one else gets.”

Early on, Cohen learned to avoid the typical questions and catch the attention of the artist. Not many journalists did this with their interviews. Cohen was different.

“You win points with the artist because everyone asks the same questions all the time,” she said.

Among the many singers and songwriters Cohen interviewed, Jethro Tull was one of them. Journalists would always ask Tull the same question; why did he strike a flamingo-like pose when he played the flute? Cohen completely avoided that question and came up with something else.

“He had a song called ‘Locomotive Breath.’ I asked what he had for dinner the night he wrote that song,” Cohen said. “He sat with me for two hours... because I asked him the unexpected question. That was a real learning experience for me.”

After her days of interviewing, Cohen entered the world of radio. She started part-time on a radio show in Switzerland which aired on Friday nights. Her success led to a full-time job on the air. 

 “After that, Swiss Radio International had contacted me. ...I did a morning drive-time program every day from 7 (a.m.) ‘till 10 (p.m.).”

Cohen’s morning show featured the latest music, news, and current events happening around Switzerland. For several years, she was a successful show host. Though, after hearing her mother had cancer, she returned to life in the Big Apple. 

Cohen packed light for a short trip, expecting to return to her husband in Switzerland. Instead, she ended up falling in love with someone else.

“Life is funny that way,” Cohen said with a sly grin on her face.

After meeting her current spouse online, a year and half later, they moved to Reading, Pennsylvania. Cohen was offered a job at the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, but she declined the position due to the long commute. 

Eventually, Cohen decided to go back to college and study literature for two years at Albright College. This would be her second bachelor's degree after obtaining her first in health science in New York. She took a course on the ‘history of music and cinema’. She befriended the professor, who was also the advisor for the radio station on campus. Not long after, she was given the opportunity to run WXAC. 

“They were looking for a professional to run it because (the advisor) couldn’t do it and it was a real liability for the college,” Cohen said. 

Federal Communications Commission rules were not being followed and students took over the studio with their secret rendezvous. Like a knight in shining armor, She wound up single-handedly saved the radio station from being completely shut down. 

“It was a serious lawsuit waiting to happen,” said Cohen.

The biggest change Cohen made to the station was the inclusion of the morning Spanish programs. Reading’s population is over 50% Latino and there were no Spanish programs when Cohen started at WXAC.

“That was just unacceptable,” she said. “I needed to find something that would serve the community. ... So I started the Spanish program.”

One of Cohen’s favorite parts of being the manager of Albright’s radio station is working with the students and building relationships with them.

 “Students still call me on Mother’s Day,” Cohen said. “Or, I still get invited to weddings to celebrate people’s life stories.”