Off The Mic
Brendan Dzwierzynski
DJ Name: DJ Big D
Exec Position: FM Sports Director
DJ Shifts: The Pregame, Tuesdays at 7pm and Rock Rotation, Sundays at 9pm
Year: Junior
Major: Journalism (News and Information)
Favorite Color: Green
Hobbies: Riding his bike, doodling, and listening to music
MK: What do you do personally here as the FM Sports Director at KJHK?
BD: I am in charge of putting together all of the staffs for football and basketball radio broadcasts as well as assembling our weekly FM programming. We have FM Sports programming on Tuesday nights and Sunday Afternoons.
MK: When did you first join KJHK and why?
BD: I joined KJHK as a freshman, which would have been in the Fall of 2013. I have been DJing ever since. I have been on the Sports Staff for almost my entire time here. I have wanted to do radio my entire life. When I was in high school, I did radio there as well. I did all sorts of stuff. I did sports play-by-play, DJ, news director, programming director and all sorts of things. So even when I was coming to KU from Chicago, I saw that KU had this fantastic radio station and that was a huge factor in me coming to Kansas.
MK: Where there any other factors for you to come to KU?
BD: Well the campus is beautiful! I love that this is in the Midwest but it is still far away from home. I’ve always wanted to go away from home and this was a perfect fit.
MK: Beautiful. What are some of your more prouder accomplishments here at the station?
BD: I have two different KAB (Kansas Association of Broadcasters) awards. One for sports talk and another one for an interview with a graduate teaching assistant from Iraq. That was an incredibly interesting interview. I take a lot of pride in the things that I do for the station on a day-to-day basis. Actually, a few weeks ago, a student came through the station with his parents and they wanted a tour. I gave one to him. I like to talk a lot and I talk mostly about sports and KJHK. So I walked him around the entire station and answered all of his questions about what we do. After that, we actually got a note from KU Admissions telling us that this kid now had KU as his top school. It turns it was because of his station tour of KJHK and I took a lot of pride in that. I love being here. And I love what I do here. So I want to spread that love to as many people as possible.
MK: Yeah, you want to spread the love.
BD: Exactly.
MK: Have you ever been in love, Brendan?
BD: I have, actually.
MK: Is being in love a positive or negative experience for you? Because it can easily be both.
BD: Yeah, it has mostly been positive. The love itself is very positive. Every relationship, whether it is romantic or friendly, has peaks and valleys. But it is a generally positive concept for me.
MK: How does being in love add to your experience at KJHK?
BD: I think when you truly love something you put in your most effort. When romantic, you think how you love this person and you want to show you love them and you do more for that person. It applies to a place you love too. Like with KJHK, I love what I do so I put in a lot of effort here. Whenever I DJ, for example, I get very irritated with myself when I don’t have a perfect mic break. When I record myself in a production room I have to do it over and over again until I get it just right. I want what I do to be perfect. I want the perception of the station to reflect what I think about it.
MK: So you are talking a lot about you being a perfectionist. Is this something of a character flaw you might have? My perfectionist tendencies cause me a great deal of distress.
BD: I wouldn’t say it is a flaw outwardly. Inside, I see myself as flawed and that is why I feel the need to work harder in order to better my work and myself. But I think that when people want to improve themselves it only serves the greater whole.
MK: Why do you see yourself as so flawed, Brendan?!
BD: I think it is because I have the belief that you can never be good enough. An example is with sports. I played volleyball for six years. I always knew I could hit the ball pretty well upfront. I was a good outside hitter. But I was never a good passer. I could never pass and I would get pulled out when I went to the backside of the row. And that bothered me. No matter what good I do now, I could be better. I will never be satisfied. And if you are not satisfied, you will always make yourself better. I want to make myself better. I want to make everyone around me better.
MK: When did you realize you had this drive for improvement?
BD: It was probably around the time I started to work in radio. I have always done decently enough in school but it wasn’t until I found something that I could put 100% of myself into that I realized I had this drive. This is something I really care about and I want to be really good at it. Radio gave me this drive. I also keep the memories of things I didn’t do well, whether it be related to relationships or jobs. And those memories always remind me of how far I have come and how much better I can always be.