Q&A’s: What Do You Love?

Haley Kellogg

When did you first realize that you could sing?

I honestly don’t remember the exact day I realized it, but I do remember the day everyone else did. I was about six years old and I was preforming in a choir at church. When I got off stage my whole family was in shock. They knew that what had happened up on that stage was something special. From that day forward my parents made it a point to allow me to sing, anywhere and everywhere.

Did you grow up around music?

Yeah, my mom used to be a singer and both my grandmas play the piano. Music is definitely something that runs in my family. At a young age I began taking piano lessons, which helped with my singing a lot.

How has music affected your life?

Music has had such a huge impact on my life. It has helped me get through a lot of hard times. Whenever I am having a bad day or need an escape, music is always there for me. Anytime I’m stressed or frustrated I can go back into my room and either write a song or just sing. It’s a way to escape the world for the time being.

How did you juggle between school and music in high school?

Well, in high school I was very involved with choir. I competed with my school choir and was able to preform every Sunday at church. I traveled a lot in high school for competitions, so schoolwork was always something that I was doing on the road. Also, in high school it was a lot easier to communicate with your teachers and they were a lot more forgiving and understanding when you were missing class for a school oriented activity.

What about in college?

College has been a lot different than high school. I definitely thought my time would be more occupied with music than it is. When your in college, the majority of your time is dedicated to school work and because I’m always so busy worrying about my grades, sometimes it’s hard to find time for music to fit in. Sometimes it’s stressful because I play piano and guitar and those are two instruments that you need to continually practice and I don’t always have time to sit down and do that. However, music is still a part of my life. Its something that I love and I could never live without it.

Maddie Magee

How did you get involved with playing volleyball?

Well when I was younger, my parents wanted me to be involved with sports. My mom played volleyball when she was younger and height is something that runs in my family. When it came time to narrow my choices down, it was between horse back riding and volleyball. One day I just decided that I wanted to choose volleyball and the rest is history.

How was it balancing high school and sports?

I played volleyball year round. I was on a club team and a school team and this meant I was constantly traveling. Sometimes it was really hard because I was always missing class and never really got to hang out with my friends. During the school year, I was always gone on weekends. The majority of my studying was done on the road or in hotel rooms. But it actually turned out to prepare me for how I would be doing my schoolwork once I came to college. I guess it was a blessing in disguise.

Has your college experience with sports been different?

Yes, very much so. In college, volleyball is a sport that goes on fall term. This means I am here in Eugene all summer and then busy all of fall term. We don’t have a lot of time to hang out with our friends or go to parties. If I’m not playing, I’m practicing and if I’m not practicing, I’m studying. Luckily for UO athletes, we are allowed to take tests on the road, which is super helpful for everyone on the team. The school also provides student athletes with tutors. As freshman, we are required to go to tutoring eight hours a week to help teach us how to balance school and sports.

Does volleyball add stress to you life or is it a stress reliever?

For me, it is both. Because of volleyball, I’m always super busy. I’m constantly traveling, practicing, training and going to events. However, at the same time sports has been the best stress reliever in the world. While I’m out there on the court it’s like nothing else in the world exists. I’m able to stop and only focus on the game for that short time. It’s also nice to take your aggression and energy and let it out during the game. I’ve really found that that works for me.

Brennan Duffy

What is your name and what year are you?

My name is Brennan Duffy and I’m a junior here at the UO.

Where do you currently work?

I work at KWVA, the campus radio, as a marketing Director. I am also a DJ for KWVA. I’m on air every Friday at 12.

Why do you work at KWVA?

I have a strong passion for music, so I knew I wanted to do something along those lines. When I first heard of KWVA I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to follow my music passion. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had by far.

How did you get involved in KWVA?

I heard about KWVA earlier this year. I applied as a marketing director and got the job. About a month after, I started DJ-ing for them as well.

Would you consider this more of a job or a passion of yours?

I’d consider it a little bit of both. I work there because I love being around music, however, I don’t get paid – so I consider KWVA as more of a job that I volunteer for.

Do you play music?

Yeah. I’ve played guitar ever since I was 10 years old and I recently got into playing drums about three years ago. I played in a Band called “Couch Committee” in Highschool, and now I’m in a band called “Face for Radio” here in Eugene. I love playing music.

How has music been influential in your life?

It helps me distress and get away from everything when I’m busy. It calms me down and helps me think. Music does a lot for me. It helped me find my position at KWVA. I wouldn’t be a DJ if music didn’t hold and influence in my life.

Would you consider KWVA a kind of dream job?

In a way I would because I get the opportunity to broadcast music live. I’ve always listened to radio stations growing up and enjoyed listening to the broadcasters talk. Now I’m doing the same thing.

What is the best part of the job?

Just being around all these different types of music. I like being able to pick songs and play them for people. Also, one of the best parts is discovering new songs when people call in and request them to be played.

Tyler Horst

What is your name, where are you from, and what year are you?

My name is Tyler horst. I’m from Portland, Oregon and I’m a sophomore here at the UO.

Do you have a obsession for anything specific?

I love the outdoors a lot. I grew up hiking with my Dad on the weekends, so I’d say hiking is my obsession because you can do all sorts of various activities while hiking – like fishing, boating, photography etc.

What is your favorite spot to hike?

I think Detroit Lake is my favorite spot. It’s just a really beautiful place with a big lake. Sometimes my dad and I will take a boat out when the weather is nice, park it, and hike off into some random wilderness.

What’s so special about hiking?

I love being active outside, and I enjoy the quiet time. Whenever I’m home for the weekend I feel lazy and lethargic. Hiking makes me happy because I get to go out and see something new every time.

What was your most recent hiking trip?

The last one I went on was Spencer’s Butte because it’s so close to campus. You can always enjoy a little Spencer’s Butte Hike.

Do you have any plans for this summer, hiking wise?

I’ve never been to Black Butte before, surprisingly. So I’ll probably have to do that this summer with my friends. Its something that I’ll be looking forward too, definitely.

Lance Chau

What year are you here at the University of Oregon?
I’m a Freshman.

How long have you been dancing for?

I’ve been dancing for about six years, but I’ve been break dancing, or b-boying, for about four years.

How did you get into dancing?

My friends at school were watching YouTube videos and dance videos on the internet, watching movies and MTV. There was a whole dance craze that they got into and I sort of just jumped onto it because of them. So it became a giant trend for us.

How was the transition from home to the university and continuing to dance?

It’s very different in the fact that the dancing here at U of O is much smaller compared to back home in the Bay Area. The dancing there is much bigger and there is much more diversity. The city of San Francisco brings a lot of dancers from all around the world and you meet so many different people that come to compete. It’s open up way more doors than I thought.

How has dance as a hobby helped you here?

People have definitely recognized me because I dance around school. It has become a common conversation topic for me wherever I go. It’s a great ice breaker to start conversations.

Do you think it’s been beneficial to you having dance as a hobby here?

Yes, I’ve made new friends that I probably would not have met if it weren’t for dancing. It’s taken me to places like Seattle with these guys. I never thought I would’ve been traveling. I’ve met people from all over the world and sometimes you don’t speak the same language as someone, but you can communicate through dance. It becomes a great interaction with international students.

How has dance helped you with the stress of being a student?

It definitely helps me get away from all the workload and the stress. I can go dance at night with my friends at Lawrence Hall and it gives me an escape from the normal world. I can put all my energy into this craft and make it my own while venting everything else out.

Would you consider dance a stress reliever for you?

It definitely is a stress reliever, but it can also cause stress. It takes a lot of practice to accomplish a new move or put a routine together, but once you accomplish whatever it may be it gives you a great sense of relief and acknowledgment of you capabilities. While some people like to drink on the weekend to relax, I dance. I get the same feeling without having to go out drinking or partying.

Would you say your obsessed with dance?

I’m very obsessed with dance, and the culture, and the community.

Has dance improved your quality of life?

Definitely. If I never started dancing, I would have never met most of the friends I have today both here and back home. I also would’ve never known the feeling of preforming and been able to gain the huge amount of confidence that dance has given me. I’ve also taught people how to dance which is an amazing feeling, sharing your art form and skill with others.

Megan Kennedy

How long have you been creating art?

I’ve probably been producing art since I could hold a crayon, at least that’s what my mom has told me.

What’s your favorite type of art?

I love to do watercoloring and then ink over it. Watercoloring is really free and you feel like you can paint anything you want to, and then you can always go back over it with ink and it will make it look really detailed and really nice.

What importance has art played for you coming here to the University of Oregon?

It’s everything to me. It’s what I want to do with the rest of my life. I love producing artwork more than anything else. It’s really important to me because it’s a way you choose to express yourself and I feel like anyone can produce it which makes it important to everyone. It’s not biased to one group of people.

Do you see art as a source of stress relief for you?

Yes. When I’m stressed out, my notebook pages turn into a sketchbook.

How has art benefited you?
It’s in cultured my life. A lot of how I feel and how I perceive the world has been based off of how I was taught to look at art. You would be surprised at how political problems are to how you view, and understand, and criticize the way you look at art.

When did you realize art played a roll in something you wanted to pursue as a career?

When I was younger, I thought I wanted to write or do journalism and then in high school I just kind of realized, No. I want to produce art that I like to make and other people enjoy. It doesn’t even have to be studio produced artwork. It could be packaging design. It’s beautiful artwork that everyone can enjoy without even realizing it. I love that about it.

Where do you think you would be without art?

I’d be very bored. It’s just what I do. I knit and crochet and I know that’s not normally considered and art form, but to me it is. You have to understand and learn the way the tools work in the same ways you learn to hold a paintbrush. You learn to do so many different things because of it. It’s really wonderful, I don’t know what I would be doing without it.

Would you say art has shaped you into who you are?

I’d like to think so, yes, and in a lot of good ways. I’m obsessed with art in the most weird and random ways

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