Kristina Mikhailova is an international student from Russia and a freshman here at DePauw who was inspired by the Activities Fair and decided to start her first radio show. I had the opportunity to ask her some questions about it.
Her Campus: What’s your show about?
Kristina Mikhailova: So, my show is called Stargazers. The first time I had it, it was strictly a talk show, however now, when I’m doing it with Ono, we talk for about thirty minutes, play some music, and then talk some more. We also answer phone calls with questions or concerns. We talk about a variety of different topics. We had about three shows about boyfriends and girlfriends, we talked about our home countries (Ono is from Japan and I’m from Russia), and we talked about the movie The Nun (that was scary – imagine talking about a horror movie alone in the building at night). Basically, we talk about stuff that’s happening in our everyday lives or about current events in the world. Last week, for example, we talked about the hurricane in Florida.
HC: Why did you decide to start a radio show?
KM: I signed up for it at the academic fair because it seemed interesting. It was a totally spontaneous decision, because I didn’t know what other clubs to join. It will look good on my portfolio.
HC: Do you do it alone or with a friend?
KM: I started it off alone, as a talk show with guests. The first time I had my friends Nina and Key join me. Now I’m doing it with my boyfriend Ono, but we’re constantly looking for new guests to have on the show.
HC: What hours is it at?
KM: You can listen to it on Fridays from 12am to 2am. I think right now the only people that listen to it are my friends here, my family and friends back in Russia, and Ono’s family in Japan.
HC: Is it hard being up that early in the morning?
KM: It’s not hard at all! The radio show end at 2am, so I’m usually in bed by 2:30am. I don’t consider it to be a late night. Late night is staying up till six in the morning, haha. Also, what motivates me is the fact that the next day is Friday. I will admit, however, that if it wasn’t for Google Calendar reminding me that I have a radio show, I would totally forget about it. After a long Thursday, it completely slips my mind sometimes.
HC: Is this something you did in high school as well?
KM: I did announcements in high school, but I’ve never had my own radio show before.
HC: Is this something you’ve always wanted to do, or did you just decide to try it once you got to DePauw?
KM: I used to dream about being a reporter on TV, but I’ve never imagined running a radio show. I think it’s nice I decided to do that, so my friends and family back in Russia can hear my voice over the internet.
HC: Was the process of getting started difficult?
KM: We came there at 11:55pm and learned everything in five minutes. It’s not hard to learn how to operate the equipment – you just have to press a few buttons. You can also play advertisements if you want to. If you want to play music, you have to chose something from the folder that they already have – you cannot just play stuff of the internet. I like the music they have, but I don’t think it’s for everyone, since it’s mostly rock music.
HC: Do you think you’ll be doing this next year as well?
KM: I honestly don’t know yet – depends on my schedule.