You don’t have to be the next Casey Kasem to get involved with radio at Duke. All that’s required is a love for music. Get Involved at WXDU Volunteers are needed for a variety of roles at Duke’s radio station, from on-air DJs to helping select music. Duke community members can visit an information session at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Duke Coffeehouse to learn about training, which starts Jan. 18. For more information about WXDU and how to get involved, visit the radio station’s website.

A special information session will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Duke Coffeehouse for students and employees who want to be DJs at WXDU, Duke’s radio station. Training begins Jan. 18 to prepare a new crop of Duke community members to play music and talk on-air. Overall, faculty and staff comprise 15 percent of WXDU's staff of 80 volunteer DJs that broadcast at 88.7 FM locally and online.

To get on-air, new DJs complete three sessions – one a week over three weeks – that include practice runs of what they would do during a show, starting from shadowing longtime DJs to helping play music from CDs, then talking during music breaks. Training times are flexible and employees can learn more or sign up by emailing training@wxdu.org.

The station plays a variety of music throughout the day - from rock to bluegrass to hip hop. DJs are typically asked to play a certain amount of pre-selected music with opportunities to pick their own selections from the thousands of records and CDs kept at the station, located in the Bivins Building on East Campus. Opportunities for on-air time can be flexible, including weekly DJ shifts or filling in for volunteers.

Adrienne Harreveld, research coordinator with the Duke/UNC Initiative on Poverty and Inequality, started as a disc jockey at the station in 2011 as an undergraduate at Duke and has continued as an employee. She also is program director for the station.

Adrienne Harreveld, who's volunteered at WXDU since she was a Duke student, sorts through records before going on-air at Duke's radio station. Photo by Bryan Roth.

“We’re all really different people who are here and we all have really different musical interests and backgrounds,” she said. “The commonality we all have is we’re excited about music and I would encourage anyone who has this excitement and curiosity about music to come check out WXDU.”

For Duke community members who want to get involved with the radio station but may not want to DJ, volunteers are also needed for WXDU's community affairs committee, which organizes promotions, station operations and public affairs. In addition, faculty and staff can also join WXDU’s music selection staff, which helps pick music that’s played on air.

No experience is needed to take on any role with the station.