[WATCH]
Written by Isabella Crowther
Mirain Iwerydd wasn’t seeking out a career in radio when a producer was putting together content for the Urdd’s Eisteddfod T week and asked if she ever considered presenting. “(They)…asked me if I was interested in applying to co-present a week of two hour daily programmes on Radio Cymru 2, with Ellis Lloyd Jones. There was a bit of apprehension, to begin with, before I said ‘yes’, because I’d never done radio before, or solo presenting, or live radio presenting for that matter either.” Well, it must have been second nature to her because one of the presenters at Radio Cymru 2 was taking a break and producers for the show asked if she was interested in taking over. “It came as a massive shock to me, to be honest, that someone thought that I, a nineteen-year-old, first-year university student at the time, was good enough to present a three-hour radio show and operate the sound desk at the same time. I’ve genuinely never said yes to anything more quickly in my life.”
So what is her secret? Well, Mirain credits saying ‘yes’ to work experience and putting herself out there as much as possible for the amount of success she has achieved in such a short amount of time. Although she admits that she thought about not taking the opportunities that got herself here, she inspiringly stated, “Moral of the story: if there’s anyone out there that doesn't feel as though they’ve got anything to offer, or that thinks that literally no-one is going to give a damn about what you have to say, my advice is to just give yourself a chance.”
It took her quite a few programmes at the radio station to feel like she was totally comfortable within the role. She was focusing on making it through and not doing anything incorrectly…”But now I absolutely love the three hours in front of the desk. Before then, I think my main focus for every show was just to try not to mess things up, and get through a three-hour show.
Right now, I feel like being behind the desk is like one of my favourite places, and I enjoy doing the show so so much. There’s still a tiny bit of pre-show anxiety, but I think that’s pretty natural when the presenting adrenaline kicks in.”
I was interested to ask how her colleagues of a similar age also got into radio, which led us back to the topic of putting yourself out there through making videos for online platforms and Tiktok. Continuing, she said “Being self-confident and ready to say ‘yes’ to things really helps… but also having said that, saying ‘no’ to a lot of things has helped me and my colleagues of a similar age in the industry. Knowing who I am has been important; having a strong sense of self. From the start, I’ve always been very confident in what I want to do, what I stand for, and what I enjoy doing. Saying 'no' to things has also been helpful to me and others of a similar age in the industry. I've found that sometimes you've got to know what you want to do, and say ‘yes’ to those things, not the things - or the 'image' - that other people want from you, and what they think you should be doing.”
So what is possible next for Mirain? She said she would possibly like to move into radio production or become a musical artist. “Even though I’ve got zero experience in production, it just seems fascinating to me, and I’ve realised how much TV and Radio is reliant on the production team. Every single producer I’ve ever worked with works mega hard, and they have to do FAR more work than I’ve ever had to do.”
Mirain is inspiring because she is proof that being young doesn’t hold you back. You can still be taken seriously and make great strides in a very short amount of time!