As achievement mantras go, "Don't mess up" isn't likely to be the buzz phrase of the self-help world anytime soon. But senior Greg Schondelmeier admits those three words both haunted and drove him during his past year as president of UVMtv. His goal: relocate the student television station from the hinterlands of the Coolidge Hall basement to first-floor, high-profile space in the Davis Center.

UVMtv, by nearly any estimate, is the kid brother of student media at the university. Chris Evans, staff adviser to the university's student media outlets, says, "The Cynic is sort of the venerable, mature child. WRUV is the rowdy teenager. And UVMtv is, in many ways, embryonic."

When the Davis Center was in planning, UVMtv was little more than a closed-circuit movie channel for residence halls. While The Cynic and WRUV were slated for new, prominent space along the same corridor, UVMtv wasn't in the blueprints. But in the time since, the station gained traction, developed original programming, and the students involved soon started the search for more functional, visible space. Opportunities were explored, nothing panned out.

Big break

The door to Davis began to crack open last summer. Schondelmeier was at work in New York City, where he'd landed an internship with Sharp Entertainment, a fast-rising television production company founded by alumnus Matt Sharp '94. One day Schondelmeier's cell phone buzzed with a call from Josh Miller of UVM's Student Government Association.

Miller had promising news. A hair salon slated to occupy leased space in Davis had withdrawn from the deal. Schondelmeier saw the vacancy as a "now or never" opportunity to make a break from the Coolidge basement. "It was really our last chance," he says.

Schondelmeier's academic work has been focused in the English Department's film and television studies major. He sought out UVMtv as a complement to the theory of his courses, a chance to gain experience in hands-on production work. His lead role in UVMtv's quest for space has taken the education of his undergrad years in another direction — earning Schondelmeier something of a minor in the art of knocking on the right doors, making a compelling case, and building consensus.

Schondelmeier and his UVMtv colleagues launched their offensive when they taped an interview with President Fogel in the fall. They used the opportunity to hand him a letter outlining their hopes for moving into Davis. Not long after, Vice President Richard Cate was in touch. Cate was willing to listen, but was up front that the Davis budget plan called for $26,000 in annual lease income from that space. He advised them to write a business plan, then give him a call.

That plan would have the misfortune of being presented to Cate and Fogel in a meeting that immediately followed one in which they'd received the news Wachovia bank had frozen short-term investment funds of nearly 1,000 colleges and universities, UVM among them. Looking back, Schondelmeier says the bad timing was almost comic. But the students reconsidered, scaled back, and rallied. Eventually, the university administration would agree to waive UVMtv's rent for their first three years in Davis.

Key to making the plan work was bringing together stakeholders from the Inter Residence Association, Residential Life, Student Government Association, the Davis Center, and the central administration. Evans credits Schondelmeier for making it happen. "That was all Greg," he says. "Everyone had to be on board."

UVMtv enters prime time

As Schondelmeier prepares to move on from UVM, UVMtv prepares to move into new headquarters in the Davis Center. The week before classes end, he stands in the raw space that will be transformed into headquarters in several weeks. "I might be able to edit a video here before I leave," he says with a slight smile.

Schondelmeier is confident that the new space will push his friends and successors at UVMtv to rise to a new level, building on programming advances of the past several years. "UVM Weekly," a program that covers both university and local news, is one of the station's anchor programs. A dating show called "Love Line" is, not surprisingly, a student favorite. "It's incredibly awkward and strange," says Schondelmeier, essentially defining the appeal of reality television.

A core of about fifteen students have been UVMtv stalwarts in recent years. Both Evans and Schondelmeier believe that number will expand considerably as thousands of students walk past the windows of the station every day. "This gives them a chance to improve programming, sell ads, improve their business team," Evans says. "The trick will be to take that new talent and turn it around into excellent programming."

Post-graduation, Schondelmeier plans to move to New York with options open, hopes focused on the creative end of production. He's proven adept at working an alumni connection; he landed his summer internship after meeting Matt Sharp through a UVM networking event. He can envision trying that angle again. Referring to the noted film producer and UVM alumnus, Schondelmeier jokes, "I'm hoping Jon Kilik needs a cup of coffee."

As he looks for that first job in the entertainment industry, Schondelmeier is likely to be well served by the business savvy and chutzpah honed during his senior year. Clearly, he has learned what to do with a foot in the door.