Meet Jay Klein, the man behind the mic on WGRE Tuesday nights 11:00 pm to 12:00 am, and a fellow student-athlete on the men’s soccer team here at DePauw. Jay manages to juggle his athletics, academics and being a Media Fellow. He’s definitely the triple threat. He hopes to major in kinesiology and obtain his dream job of working for ESPN.
Her Campus: Hi Jay! If you could just give our readers a little background information as to who you are, where you’re from and all that jazz, that’d be really great to start us off.
Jay Klein: Hi, I’m Jay Klein. I’m a freshmen here at DePauw. I’m from Cincinnati, Ohio in a small town called Wyoming and I’m playing on the men’s soccer team here.
HC: Why did you choose to come to DePauw?
JK: I chose DePauw because it allowed me to play soccer and also to receive a fantastic education at the same time.
HC: Were you recruited for soccer? What position do you play?
JK: Yes, I was recruited for soccer here. I am a forward.
HC: How is life as a student-athlete? What are some of the challenges and benefits?
JK: Some of the benefits are that you instantly have a friend group right when you get on campus, and the team is great this year. I love all the guys. So, that’s helped me out a lot in adjusting to the school. I guess you can say some of the downsides are managing your time, which has been a little bit difficult for me so far, but I’m adjusting to it and I feel like everyone goes through that. If you’re a student-athlete though, you kind of have less time than other people to adjust.
HC: I can understand that, but while we are on the subject of soccer…are you team Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester?
JK: I would have to say Manchester.
HC: Who is your all-time favorite player?
JK: My all-time favorite player for professional soccer? Um, I would say, that’s a good question, but Messi!
HC: Aside from sports, I understand you’re also a radio host here at DePauw for WGRE. How has that experience been?
JK: It’s fantastic so far. I’m doing it with a friend of mine named Kyle Kopchak who’s a sophomore on the soccer team. So, he’s showed me how to do everything, and it’s really fun. He’s a funny guy, and not that many people listen to our show, but it’s still a good experience for the real world because I want to have a job that is involved in media.
HC: You’re also a musician, correct?
JK: I guess you can say that. I’ve been playing the saxophone for about nine years, and I recently picked up guitar about two years ago, so that’s gone well so far.
HC: What sparked your musical interest?
JK: I just love listening to music, and I think that playing guitar is beneficial in real world situations, like getting women.
HC: I can definitely see you serenading a girl here. What type of music are you typically into?
JK: I love jazz music, so I play a lot of jazz and saxophone. I listen to that all the time, and then I also really like rap music. I’d say Chance is my favorite rapper right now.
HC: If you could pick one artist to sit front row live, who would it be?
JK: Hmm. I’ll tell you my favorite concert I went to, and that was J.Cole, so I think being able to sit front row for J.Cole would be extremely cool.
HC: That’s awesome! What would you say is your favorite thing to do here on campus?
JK: I love just hanging out with friends and going to the den late at night for a chicken tender basket before bed. That’s always really fun. We also have a pool table downstairs in Humbert, and I love playing pool or just chilling with friends all the time. Euchre night is also super fun and competitive.
HC: How do you feel about The Den closing in October?
JK: I’m extremely sad the den is closing, but I have high hopes for the new place. I think that the food will be much better than The Inn.
HC: I believe it will be better too. Now, before we bring this interview to an end, is there anything else you would like people to know about you?
JK: People can just know that I’m an easy going, fun guy!
HC: Thanks so much for sharing, Jay. Keep on doing what you do! Also, to our awesome students and readers, make sure to tune into his radio show if you enjoy good music (I mean who doesn’t).