by Shila Naidu, newsroom intern

DISC jockey and singer-songwriter Mario Lajarca Jr hit the 'on air' button for the last time in the Power 98 studios on Sunday when he hosted his weekly show Rock Revolution.

But if you think his passion for radio has fizzled out, you are mistaken.

Starting next Monday, Lajarca Jr will be joining Ngee Ann Polytechnic's School of Film & Media Studies (FMS) to teach and inspire the next generation of Singapore's radio industry.

The 37-year-old had been wanting to teach since he graduated from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila with a degree in mass communication, majoring in broadcast communication.

'I have always wanted to teach what I had learnt but I felt I did not have the qualifications and that things were not as flexible in the polytechnics then,' he explained.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic had approached him to teach part-time before but he was unable to take up the offer then.

'It was really sad for me to not have taken that opportunity, but the schedules kept clashing,' said the DJ, who is known as Supermario to his listeners.

EXCITED

Now he is raring to go since he can devote all his time to his students.

'I'm excited and a little nervous at the same time because I don't know what to expect,' he said.

'I've been to the (Ngee Ann) campus many times and I just liked the vibrancy there. Many of the people I'm close to in the industry are also at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

'I was also blown away by the facilities at FMS.'

The father of two girls aged 5 and 2 is also releasing his third album, Take One, later this year.

HAPPY

Ngee Ann Polytechnic is happy to have him on board.

'We are excited to have him,' said Mr Yokanathan Ramakrishnan, 47, lecturer and section manager of radio at FMS.

He added: 'We are confident that his years of experience, good knowledge about the music industry and many valuable contacts will be enriching for the school and the students.

'As he is an industry professional and celebrity, he will also enhance the academic staff portfolio of Ngee Ann Polytechnic.'

Lajarca Jr has been working with students from the polytechnic who run the campus radio station, Radio Heatwave, as part of a memorandum of understanding FMS has with Power 98.

Lajarca Jr has worked in radio stations in Manila, Dubai, and Colombo.

Mr Yokanathan said Lajarca Jr will be teaching students things like on-air presentation skills and using professional software to create programme capsules and jingles.

'Radio is not just about being glam and being famous. If you are in it for those reasons you won't last long,' said Lajarca Jr.

'You need guts to be able to produce, write, host events on stage.'

As for his fans who will miss hearing his voice on radio, you can expect to hear him back on the air in August.

'I will be doing it part-time. I'm not sure about the show or the time-slot, but it'll be a three-hour programme,' he said.

This article was first published in The New Paper on June 10, 2008.