By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing
First, there were tears.
Then, there was hope.
Now, there is inspiration.
Trent Ferguson was born with optic nerve hypoplasia. [Photo courtesy of Trent Ferguson]
Trent Fergusonâs family wept when, as a baby, they learned he was blind. Ferguson was diagnosed with irreversible total blindness due to optic nerve hypoplasia.
Late one night a few months later, grandfather Dean Ferguson hoped the radio would soothe his howling grandson.
When Roy Orbisonâs âPretty Womanâ came on, the baby looked in the direction of the radio.
Cries turned to coos.
âI knew then he was perfect,â the grandfather said. âI just knew he would be fine and was meant for great things. I couldnât have known that radio would play a big role in that.â
Ferguson is now a senior at ±«Óătv majoring in mass communications with a concentration in broadcast program and production.
âMy dream job is to be a host or co-host of a major sports talk show on a radio network,â he said.
Ferguson has already been working toward that goal for a decade.
He got his start recording public service announcements and a podcast and then became an on-air talent for area radio stations, including serving as a color commentator for high school football games.
Ferguson initially took a break from working in radio so he could focus on his studies at ±«Óătv and made his on-air return in December. From his residence hall, Ferguson produces weekday sports news segments that are broadcast at 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. on Sebringâs WWOJ 99.1.
âI'm blind, but I don't let it stop me,â said Ferguson, who writes scripts in brail and edits with software designed for the visually impaired. âI don't see it as a hindrance. I see it more as a way of life.â
None of his jobs have been pity hires. Heâs not employed because heâs blind. Rather, he is a radio personality who happens to be blind.
âHe has a ton of talent,â said Michael Ewing, general manager of Highlands Radio Group, which owns WWOJ 99.1. âHe studies his craft. He has worked on his voice. He earns everything.â
Trent Ferguson writes a radio script in brail from his ±«Óătv residence hall. [Photo by Torie Doll]
Radio beginnings
In a way, Fergusonâs on-air career began with the sound of airbrakes in his hometown of Avon Park.
When at his grandparentsâ house, that noise let him know that his grandfather had returned from work driving a bucket truck for the Florida Power Corp.
âThe airbrakes would pop and, starting when he was maybe 4, heâd follow the sound right to the truck,â Fergusonâs grandfather Dean said. âHeâd climb in and sit in there for hours, listening to my workâs CB radio and talking to my dispatcher.â
Inside the house, his fascination with radio continued.
âHe could hear a commercial jingle and then immediately mimic it on the piano,â Dean said.
He then provided his grandson with a subscription to satellite radio on which he continued to listen to Roy Orbison and similar musicians from that era.
As a little kid, Trent Ferguson spent hours on his grandfather's CB radio. [Photo courtesy of Trent Ferguson]
At around 5 or 6, wanting to hear his voice on the air, he began regularly calling into his favorite morning radio show, hosted by Gordon "Phlash" Phelps on the â60s on 6 channel.
âListeners absolutely loved him,â Phelps said. âThey thought a little kid who loved the â60s and had that great personality was the cutest thing.â
Phelps turned Ferguson into a regular part of the show.
Sometimes, he peppered Ferguson with music or elementary school trivia questions. Other times, he elicited an innocent chuckle through a cheesy joke.
- Did I ever tell you about the time I bowled a 300 and 1?â Phelps asked in one bit that he still has saved.
- âThatâs not possible,â Ferguson replied.
- You ever hear about anybody who bowled a 300 and lost?â Phelps answered.
During those bits, not once did either Phelps or Ferguson mention blindness.
âNo one knew,â Phelps said. âIt didnât matter.â
It mattered at school.
Teachers worried whether they were prepared to properly educate a blind student, and classmates picked on him.
âStupid things like asking how many fingers they were holding up,â Ferguson said. âIt never bothered me.â
After third grade, Fergusonâs family decided it was best for him to transfer to St. Augustineâs Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind where he lived in a residence hall, four hours from home.
âI cried almost every day at first,â he said. âI also knew it was for the best.â
It led to his pursuit of a career in sports journalism.
Trent Ferguson provides color commentary for a high school football game. [Photo courtesy of Trent Ferguson]
Becoming a radio personality
The Tampa Bay Buccaneersâ booming cannons taught Ferguson just how powerful the radio can be.
On Fridays, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind chartered buses to take students home and then again on Sundays to bring them back to campus. During the long rides, Ferguson listened to sports radio, especially loving the Buccaneersâ games announced by Gene Deckerhoff.
âFire the cannons,â Fergus