Discover My Media Journey
Music, it's always been you.
I was weeks away from turning two when High School Musical debuted on Disney Channel. I don't remember watching it for the first time, or learning the songs, but I was absolutely captivated. From convincing my sisters to perform Kidz Bop concerts for our parents to recruiting my Dad to help me transfer songs to my iPod, my childhood was basically a never-ending playlist.
As I got older, it wasn't just the songs from the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown that caught my attention. I started listening to albums top to bottom, researching the artists, and studying the lyrics. There was a newfound fascination with how these songs told stories, stories that real people felt and resonated with. The music drew me in, but I couldn't get enough of the stories behind it. My free time began to consist of analyzing Vevo music videos, talk show interviews, and TigerBeat magazines. Pop culture occupied 90% of my mind before I ever logged on to Instagram (and I was a late bloomer).
Hey, that's good! I'm putting that on a t-shirt.
My first on-air experience happened the same year I was pressured into joining the 5th grade band. As a member of my elementary school's "tech team" I was asked to represent our group on the morning show at a local radio station. I don't recall how many other students also made their radio debuts that day; however, I will never forget exactly what I said on-air. When asked how our crew manages to troubleshoot the entire school's devices, the words "Chill, we're working on it," left my mouth somewhere in my response. Weeks later the team was presented t-shirts with my quote posted on the back. I accidentally coined the tech team's first unofficial slogan. This was my first time live on-air and I was somehow already dropping t-shirt quotes. Who is this kid?
I'll never get over this....
Seventh grade was a big year for me, a year of many firsts. I joined pep band and attended my first concert. I don't know if my Dad suspected that he was opening the floodgates by taking me to Carrie Underwood's The Storyteller Tour, but that experience unlocked something I didn't know I was missing out on. Music in your car, your room, or your headphones is amazing but music LIVE is unmatched! It's surreal seeing and hearing the performers live and in person, but the community of fans and all of the moving parts to bring the show to life is what always stands out to me.
Is this thing on?
Concert band, pep band, choir, drama club... if there was music involved, I was there. Band and theatre had grown to be such a fulfilling and transformative outlet for me in high school. As I considered what I wanted to do after graduation my mind went blank in the career field. But I knew then that if I could do something with the same amount of passion and purpose that I find in music and theatre, whatever that is, is what I would pursue. I was browsing through college majors and landed in the communications field when journalism caught my eye. I'm always asking too many questions anyway. I did some more digging only to realize that journalism includes radio. Radio is like equivalent to music. Ah-ha! This seems promising. The more I considered it, the more it just made sense. When I break down why I love music so much it's because of the stories it tells. That's exactly what I'm going to do--be a storyteller.
And so my story begins...
Contact Me
Let's connect!
I'm always seeking new stories to tell. Have a new opportunity I should know about? Send me a message. I'd love to connect!
Kenzie Ogden
