Written by Jonathan Free
This post serves as a thank you and good luck to all of our graduating seniors as this semester comes to a close. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to providing commentary, great music, and laughs from all of us at KURE and all of our listeners in the Ames and Iowa State community.
Without further ado, here are KURE’s Spring 2019 Graduating Seniors! <insert crying emoji>
Nicholas Malone
DJ Name: DJ Astro Malone
Past Shows: Space Auddity January 2016 – May 2019
When and why did you join KURE?
January 2016. My friend DJ Wavves told me about KURE and I realized it was something I would really enjoy doing. She was right!
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
I have two.
My vinyl show in 2016. We had two record players back then and I literally was a disk jockey. It is A LOT of work playing records. I took tons of my parents old records and played a bunch of stuff from the 60’s and 70’s.
Kanye power hour happened this year at 3 AM during KQ. It was an hour of pure Kanye. I spent hours the day before cleaning up the songs so there were no swears.
What are your future plans?
Future plans are doing airplane and space stuff! (Edit: Nicholas also just accepted a job at Sierra Nevada Corporation! We hope to see him flying around in their future spaceships.)
Karina Abbott
On-air/DJ Name: DJ Gingersnap
Past Shows: Ginger Jams Fall 2015-Spring 2018; TuneTalk Fall 2016-Spring 2019; Fake Flowers Spring 2018-Spring 2019
When and why did you join KURE?
I joined KURE on a whim in my first semester at ISU back in 2015, because my dad had listened to the station when he went to school here and told me to check it out. I saw they had a DJ application and I just decided to apply for it, which was completely out of character, but I’m so glad I did it.
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
My talk shows (TuneTalk and Fake Flowers), making new friends through those platforms, and creating spaces where people can talk freely about whatever they need to.
What are your future plans?
I’m planning on going to grad school in the Fall to get my masters in design management. Wish me luck!
Kevin Marasinghe
On-air/DJ Name: Doc Scratch
Past Shows: Live From Alternia, 2014-19
When and why did you join KURE?
Joined in October 2014 because my roommate was also, ended up doing it far longer.
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
In 2016, someone posted to the KURE staff Facebook page while I was on-air saying I was playing a “bomb-ass playlist”.
What are your future plans?
Graduate and get a job 😛
(Edit: Kevin is currently a graduate student in Physics and one of the longest serving DJs we know of. He’s graduating soon, but we love him so much that we wanted to feature him here.)
Jacob Lee
On-air/DJ Name: Jacob Lee
Past Shows:
Freshman- The Show with No Name, Sophomore- The Mid-Week Roundup and The Clone Zone
Junior- Show Head of The Sound of the Storm, Senior- Show Head of The Sound of the Storm
When and why did you join KURE?
I joined KURE because in high school I started commentating varsity basketball games, and I quit doing it once I started playing on the varsity team my last two years of high school. So, my freshman year I got an email about joining the radio station and saw that they had a sports department. I decided to join because I heard I could broadcast Iowa State games and be on a weekly sports radio show!
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
I’ve got 3 favorite memories. My first one is getting to be the play-by-play commentator for the first time for the ISU/UNO men’s basketball game my sophomore year. My second favorite memory is getting to be the play-by-play commentator when Iowa State upset West Virginia in football this year. Lastly, my third favorite memory is getting to host The Sound of the Storm every Wednesday night the last two years with The Sound of the Storm guys.
What are your future plans?
After graduation I am going to move up to Minneapolis, Minnesota and move in with my girlfriend. I accepted a sales job up there with Eight Eleven Group (Brooksource) and will be starting in June!
Michael McKinney
On-air/DJ Name: Michael McKinney
Past Shows: 2017 [I don’t remember the show name to be honest]
When and why did you join KURE?
I got involved in KURE through the music review committee in 2016. I wanted a space to discuss and discover music with like-minded people and found that and more.
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
Likely all the time I spent at the music review committee meetings and the people I got to know through there, but I’ve got to shout out the 2018-19 KURE Board – I had a wonderful time with the other people running the station, whether it was during Kaleidoquiz or just spending time together.
What are your future plans?
I’m going to head down to North Carolina to pursue a career in architecture, but I’m going to keep writing and freelancing on the side.
(Edit: We hope to feature some of Michael’s extremely in-depth music reviews when he’s not building cool ass things with his architecture degree.)
Cole Schroder
On-air/DJ Name: DJ Cool Cole
Past Shows:
Electric Chill 2016
Movies and Groovies 2017
Live from KURE 2018-19
When and why did you join KURE?
I joined KURE at the very beginning of my college career, because I heard their music on campus and realized there was a radio station that actually aligned with my music tastes.
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
My favorite moment in KURE was the 2018 Halloween party when we were all hanging out and having fun as a station. I loved working at KURE and loved being Live Director.
What are your future plans?
I am moving to Johnson City, Tennessee and plan to get my masters in International Policy and become a Foreign Service Officer.
Mary Rominger
On-air/DJ Name: Mary Rominger
Past Shows: The Clone Zone, Slapshot Sunday’s, Sports Tonight
When and why did you join KURE?
I’m passionate about sportscasting and the absolute best way to exercise that passion is through college radio.
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
Every single live broadcast whether it was in Hilton Coliseum or Jack Trice Stadium.
What are your future plans?
I’ll be working at KEYC-TV CBS/FOX News 12 following graduation.
William Mejía
On-air/DJ Name:
Dj Kuzi, previously known as DJ WillyCatz, previously known as DJ Mayha
Past Shows: Producer for Molly’s talk show waaaaaaaay back, I forgot the name.
The Uncharted (Spring 2017 I think?)
Oranges & Peaches (Fall 2017-Now)
When and why did you join KURE?
I joined KURE because being a DJ seemed like a cool job! I was always fascinated by DJs in movies and TV so I decided to become one. I also wanted to have some control over the kind of music that played on the radio and maybe share some of my favorite artist that never got any air time.
What is your favorite memory of KURE?
I will always remember the DJ show in which I tried to come out for the first time. I played a bunch of LGBT+ artists and even ended the show with Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” but I was too scared to say the actual words on live radio!
What are your future plans?
I’m not really sure what the future holds but for now I’m going to travel to Canada and eat lots of poutine!
(Edit: Will has also helped out at many Kaleidoquiz’s and QuickyKwiz’s by taking team’s calls and messing with them over the phone.)
