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Kaoutar El Ouadi's jam is music. The Aurora native interns at Fox Theater and has a great vinyl collection. She is the William W. White outstanding senior for the media studies department, and also studied political science at Â鶹ÊÓƵ.Ìý

At CMDI, Kaoutar El Ouadi explored her love of music. Photo courtesy Kaoutar El Ouadi.

Conversation edited for length and clarity.

ÌýÌýSo, I know you're really into music. Tell me about that.
Yes, I'm a very big concert person. And I love collecting vinyls, cassettes, that sort of thing. And I'm an intern at Fox Theater.

ÌýÌýWow. What's that like?
I do marketing over there. It's great, because I get to go to niche, cool concerts. There is this one band, called Winyah, I'm really into, even though I'm not as into indie music.

ÌýÌýYou must have some incredible playlists from a job like that.
Those aren't my only lists, actually. I have a bucket list in my Notes app—a full list of everything I want to do before leaving Boulder. My biggest thing was probably going to a concert here at Red Rocks, which I did do!

ÌýÌýSpeaking of Red Rocks—if you could be anyone for a day, who would you pick?
I would love to be John Summit for a day! Like, what do you mean, you were an accountant, and now you're a DJ? I wanna test that out. I'll go DJ for the night, then do someone's taxes the next day, and then be in Red Rocks again, as the DJ.

ÌýÌýWas there a professor who made a big difference for you?Ìý
Professor Jon Featherstone. He was phenomenal; he was one of the first professors who treated us like peers, but was still very professional. He wasn't talking at us, he was talking with us.Ìý

ÌýÌýWhere do you see yourself after graduation?
I would love to go to California or New York—Ìýtwo of my favorite spots. And I feel like that's where all the music and entertainment is based. I feel like I can have a real shot there.Ìý

ÌýÌýFavorite memory with friends?
The summer of my junior year, when I was studying abroad, my friends and I rented miniature motorcycles. And we rode across the beach at night, which was phenomenal.

ÌýÌýOne more question. I heard you speak three languages?
Yes! When my parents first came to the US, they struggled to speak English, so they went straight to Spanish—and when they're talking, they mix the two.
So, English, Spanish and Arabic. And then I just kind of grew up listening to it.

Jayden Fortner is pursuing degrees in journalism and strategic communication at CMDI, with a minor in sports media. She covers students and student news at the college.