You probably know who this Campus Celebrity is even if you’ve never met him. If you hear the subtle sound of beautiful ukulele playing across campus, chances are, it’s Kevin Kunes! He’s a senior double-majoring in Multimedia, with an animation and special effects emphasis, and Communication, with a TV broadcasting emphasis, who is an active member of the University Honors Program. Kevin is also the Director of Programming at iCLU Radio as well as the club president. Along with all of these leadership positions, he’s co-president of the CLU Debate Team and regularly attends the Ballroom Dance Club!
Her Campus Cal Lutheran: What made you pick the Multimedia major and why are you passionate about it?
Kevin Kunes: I picked it because I like being a wizard and special effects and visual storytelling is the most lucrative way to make magic happen.
HC: I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say you’re known as the guy who plays the ukulele around campus. What the story behind that?
KK: Right the ukulele. Funny story, I used to only play harmonica back in my boy scouting days, but one day my friends and family sat me down and told me that it sounded way too depressing. So they bought me the happiest instrument they can think of so now I walk around with a ukulele instead. For some reason it’s easier for me to focus if my hands are doing something so if I’m not doodling on a piece of paper, I’m playing a ukulele. I don’t think the campus minds too much; it must be kind of nice having a local bard. I’m pretty good at picking up songs by ear but only generally I only memorize songs that are either worship songs or really, really, really, really depressing songs. Mostly out of spite.
HC: Do you play any other instruments?
KK: As a kid, me myself went all out and had to tryout one sport and one instrument. And the default is soccer and piano. So I took piano lessons for a few years, but I didn’t really start enjoying music until I got the harmonica. It’s also worth mentioning that I really like the pipe organ. I actually have an electric organ that I practice on in my house, and sometimes I get to play the big old pipe organ at my home church. I’m not great at it just yet, but I’m taking private lessons next semester.
HC: What’s your favorite song to play?
KK: “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” by Tom Leher is an old favorite. “Vincent” by Don McLean is also pretty good. Right now, though, I find myself mostly playing “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins.
HC: You have a very distinct style. How would you describe it?
KK: Perfect.
HC: If you could change the world in one way, what would that be?
KK: I quite like the universe actually. It’s not perfect, but it suits me well.
HC: If you could have any superpower what would it be?
KK: Did you know that the way that we see time isn’t the way time actually is? The physics behind it is fascinating. I don’t fully understand it but I think being able to manipulate it the way we manipulate distance will be a lot of fun.
HC: Favorite quote?
KK: From myself: “It’s not an adventure unless something goes wrong.” From someone else:”If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God” by Gilbery Keith Chesterton.
HC: Anything else you’d like to add?
KK: If a duck and a penguin got into a fight the duck would win. I don’t even know why this is an argument, but it has been an argument for nearly the past seven years of my life. I don’t know why it’s so hard for people to understand. I get that ducks are smaller, and I get that duck beaks are not as sharp as penguins’, but I think it’s impossible to ignore the fact that ducks can fly, and that ducks are incredibly aggressive. They’re more aggressive than penguins are anyway—by, like, a long shot. Also, it’s worth noting that while penguins are swift in water, ducks are way more agile in literally any other kind of terrain. Including the sky which is everywhere. Not to mention the fact, ducks are hunted all the time and their population is doing just fine while penguins are a protected species in most places. I think it’s silly to say that penguins are better at surviving. The fraction of the planet that penguins are good at surviving in is incredibly small compared to the habitat of the duck which sometimes migrates around the whole world. Speaking in general terms, it is objectively silly to think that a penguin could hold its own against the duck.