Just a little update on something I added into my weekly schedule!
I was sitting in my Intro to Journalism class at 8 am (the death of me) one day. We had a very energetic guest speaker (Benny) come in and tell us about WUTK 90.3 The Rock. It's a radio station that broadcasts from UTK's campus and has a lot of student involvement.
Benny gave us all the info about the radio station and then proceeded to ask us to volunteer there. As a deejay. A deejay, you say? Does Emma have the musical knowledge required to be a deejay?
No. She does not. BUT! Benny explained that in the radio biz, deejays don't do what normal deejays do. On the radio, deejays are simply the people who come on in between songs and tell you what you've been listening to. If you've seen Pitch Perfect, you know the gig.
After Benny cleared that up, my professor stepped up and said that if we chose to volunteer a few hours a week at WUTK, we could get out of taking our final.
And that's all it took. I emailed Benny right away. In order to apply, I had to write a 1 page paper on why WUTK could not and should not go another day without having me on their team. I had mixed feelings about all the bragging I had to do to write that. It was fun and embarrassing at the same time.
Of course, if you apply, you get in. It's not competitive. So, a week later, I threw on a beanie and baggy cargo sweatpants (because I felt like that fit the deejay vibe), and I headed down to the basement of Andy Holt Tower. (The basement setting really reinforces the vibe.)
It looks exactly how you'd imagine a radio station to look like. Stickers everywhere. Posters all over the walls. Records hung up. Radios in every room. CDs stacked up taller than me. Super cool place.
And that's where I spend my Tuesday afternoons from 2-4. I sit in the studio and announce to listeners what they just listened to and what they're about to listen to. And then I make announcements about local sporting events, concerts, festivals, etc.
And I get to do giveaways! They are so fun to do because they people who win are always so surprised that they were the right number caller. They're my 4th favorite part about the gig.
My 3rd favorite part is the events I get to go to for free. I just stand there and pass out stickers, but I get to hear bands and eat good food. My 2nd favorite part is the fact that it's getting me out of writing a final paper AND doing a final presentation. A godsend for sure.
My all-time favorite part, though, is... Drum roll, please... Being DJ EJ. The initials just work too perfectly to pass up that opportunity. (Creds to my cousin Jake for the idea.)
Of course, being live on-air sets me up to make mistakes. But they're entertaining, so here are the funniest ones I've made so far:
- I pronounced the name "Regina" like "vagina" with an R... In my defense, I know two people who pronounce it that way AND my brother's first car was named that. But still. Embarrassing.
- I did a giveaway and this guy won it. I congratulated him, took his information, and hung up the phone. Then, I went to announce to the public that he won. I type in my notes what I'm going to say when I go on-air because otherwise, I know I'll stumble over my words. And in my notes, I had written, "Congratulations to BLANK for winning our giveaway!" But I had forgotten to put his name where "BLANK" was. I didn't realize until I had already started talking. Then, I forgot his name. So I ended up saying, "Congratulations to um... for winning our giveaway!" Face palm.
I also made a TikTok account for my alternate deejay personality (@deejay.ej). I'm currently making a TikTok series of me doing push-ups in between songs each shift I have until my two favorite TikTokers (Fibula & LadyEfron) invite me to be on their podcast.
On a scale of 1-10, how confident am I that it will come to fruition? 0. How embarrassing will it be each time it doesn't work? 10. And yet, here I am.
So, that's what I've been doing! You can hear DJ EJ on Volunteer Radio 90.3 The Rock on Tuesdays from 2-4 pm.
Cute side note: The first time I went on-air by myself, Macrea (bf) sat in his car and listened for the whole 2 hours just to hear me talk 12 times. So supportive.
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