NSCC alum Jax Irwin on finding her path

Jax Irwin still remembers the buzz around her hometown when NSCC Ivany Campus was being built on the Dartmouth waterfront. “I started at the College when Ivany was in its second year,” says Jax. “It was brand new and it was the talk of the town.”

“I found anything academic incredibly intimidating,” she says. However, an NSCC info session changed that. “It was warm and approachable. I was interested in music, arts and culture and I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I just knew that I wanted to be creative. When I heard about the Radio Television Arts (now Radio Television Journalism (RTJ)) program, I applied,” she says. “I was on the waitlist for 1 year and it was 100% worth the wait.”

Finding a place that felt like home

Jax says the program and the College gave her more than an education. “I was really lost in high school and through my teen years and NSCC felt like home,” she reflects. “In a lot of ways, I didn't really know where home was, whether it was being queer or being a teenager. NSCC made the biggest difference in my life.”

Building a career

In 2010, Jax graduated from the RTJ program and like many broadcasters do early in their career, she moved to where the work was. Her first full-time radio job was in Prince George, BC. “They took a chance on me and I moved out there with 2 suitcases. I didn't know anyone,” she says. “It was hard and it was beautiful and it was really lonely after graduating.” Eventually, she came home and landed a job with Bell Media in Halifax, where she started working full-time at a pop radio station.

Jax continued to work as an on-air host at pop radio stations. “I shifted out of radio in 2023 and my co-host at the time, Adam Wylde and I, started a podcast,” she shares. “Online has always been an important platform and I think it’s where broadcast is shifting to.” In addition to their successful podcast, The Adam Wylde and Jax Show, Jax also does digital creation on Instagram and TikTok.

'Pinch-me' moments

Throughout her career, Jax recalls many ‘pinch-me’ moments. “Getting on air at the legendary C100 was my biggest goal because it was my childhood radio station. The fact that I got the job was more than enough - and everything after has been icing on the cake and I'm really grateful," she says. “A recent moment that stands out is when Adam and I were told by Amazon Music that we were going to have a main billboard in Times Square for our podcast,” she exclaims. “I flew to New York City for 24 hours to see it and I was floored and so honoured.”

Finding connection, one wrong number at a time

In 2024, after more than a decade of living away from Nova Scotia, she came home feeling homesick and searching for a creative spark. “I've always liked prank calls on the radio, but I don't like the joke being that somebody is dumb. I like it when the jokes are at my expense,” she says.

Jax originally wanted to call East Coast restaurants to see how long they would chat with her, but was nervous about wasting their time, so she switched gears. “It’s not that long ago, but it feels like a haze,” she laughs. “I decided to call a random local number to see how long they’d talk with me. The first call that I made was to a woman in Cape Breton. She just started talking and wouldn't stop and I wanted to keep talking to her too,” she admits. What began as a simple experiment has evolved into a beloved social series, where Jax calls random East Coast numbers and engages in heartfelt conversations with whoever answers. The series has since captured millions of views. “There is so much content to choose from online and the fact that people will watch and engage with me isn’t something I expected. I've been making these videos for over a year now and the demand for more videos is not slowing down. I'm having a lot of fun with it. It feels cool.”

People often assume Jax is doing a service for lonely seniors, but she says she gets just as much out of the conversations as they do. “I'm lonely too, just like everybody. The world is so disconnected right now,” she shares. “People forget that older folks have stories and they have lives and it’s important to celebrate that as much as we celebrate our own lives. It’s all about connection.”

While her goals have shifted over time, Jax hopes to keep creating things that make people smile while having fun doing it. "In a world that's increasingly hard, it's a lot easier to be soft,” she says. "If people can take away anything from what I'm doing, I hope it’s just to be a little softer with yourself and others.”