The senior strategic communications major recently accepted the role of station manager for Elon Student Television, hoping to bring a diverse group of students into the studios.
From tasting spicy wings on set to managing camera crews, Lilly Galvin ’27 knows how much energy goes into student-led media. While producing Elon Student Television’s entertainment show “eTalk,” the Elon senior helped orchestrate a local twist on “Hot Ones,” featuring Billy D’s chicken tenders, assorted hot sauces and guest interviews.
For Galvin, that brand of creative risk defined why she fell in love with Elon Student Television in the first place. Now taking charge as station manager of ESTV, she wants to make sure every student creator has the operational backing to pull off ambitious ideas.
Galvin initially studied cinema and television arts at Elon before shifting her path to strategic communications with a finance minor. She found her entry point to ESTV at the organization fair in the fall of her freshman year, quickly getting started in the control rooms. Originally a general member, Galvin quickly found herself in positions such as social media manager and producer of ESTV’s “eTalk” program.
“At first I was like a deer in headlights, and I couldn’t speak in front of a camera,” Galvin said. That was exposure therapy in a big way, so it has really been helpful in that regard. ESTV is a great place to gain experience, even if you’re not a communications major. It’s a cool creative outlet.”
ESTV produces seven active shows: “Elon Tonight,” “Elon After Hours,” “eTalk,” “Jam Session,” “The Ha Ha,” “Win Stuff” and “4A.” The formats range from live stand-up filmed at The Oak House to weekly musical showcases to a long-running game show.
“It’s a learning environment where people are also able to really inject a lot of creativity into it,” Galvin said. “The role is going to become more student-led. The faculty really told me that it’s a more student-centered production than in past years, and I think it’s been really interesting to be able to work with the budget and faculty directly.”
Heading into the 2026-27 academic year, Galvin’s primary objective is elevating production value while removing administrative burdens from show producers. Working alongside Staci Saltz, chair of the Cinema & Television Arts Department and the organization’s new faculty adviser, technical director Logan Davilla ’29, and marketing director Andrew Weber ’28, Galvin has instituted mandatory dry-run rehearsals and goal-setting for all active members.
“This year, we changed our training practices so that every studio’s first episode is a dry run. They use that date to familiarize themselves with their new crew and receive show-specific training from our head engineer. We want to make sure we are working on quality first and foremost.”
Galvin is also tackling the business end of operations, including the university’s Student Media Board funding proposals and equipment maintenance. She works directly with faculty and staff members such as Bryan Baker, School of Communications director of technology, operations and multimedia projects, to support each production team to get new studio sets, equipment or refurbishments that would help maintain ESTV’s productions.
“I like working directly with shows to address their specific needs,” Galvin said. “Being on the media board has been incredibly interesting thus far. I like hearing about what’s happening in the communication school and about what other student-media leaders are working on. Everyone’s passion for their individual projects is pretty infectious”
Beyond internal mechanics, Galvin wants to transform how ESTV engages the broader student body. She is organizing a revamped YouTube upload calendar and coordinating with Weber to build consistent social media reels. She is also actively recruiting beyond the School of Communications quad, in an attempt to bring in creative writing students for comedy sketch scripts, theater actors for performances and business students as talk show anchors.
“I think it’s better actually if we’re pulling from multiple majors on campus, and I think that offers a bunch of different and unique perspectives because in the communications school we can get siloed very quickly,” Galvin said. “There’s no experience needed. We want more people in different schools to join, even as a creative outlet.”
Galvin said she hopes to position ESTV as a launchpad where students across all disciplines build professional-grade reels and submit content to national student award competitions.
“All we’re trying to do is make everything as efficient as possible and increase the quality of our shows so that everyone has a really strong portfolio,” Galvin said. “Making ESTV as universal on campus as possible, trying to reach as many folks as possible, is my goal, and making everyone in the organization feel very heard.”