Senior communications major Kristin Stein, better known as DJ K Stein, has a passion for music and being a DJ, and has been spinning beats and keeping the party going since she was 16 years old.

“There has never been a time that music and art were not involved in my life,” Stein said. “By the time I was eight I was already taking several dance classes, learning how to play the piano, and starting to play the clarinet; by the time I was in high school, I had already taught myself how to play the guitar and begun to DJ.”

It all started when Stein asked her parents for a DJ set instead of a Sweet 16 party. Her family was not unfamiliar with the profession, as two of her uncles and one of her aunts are DJs. She subsequently taught herself how to DJ and soon after landed her first and biggest gig for over 300 people. Stein, a native of Ardsley, NY, was hired as a DJ at LIFE, a special events hall in her town, where she continued to DJ for a variety of events, from corporate events and fundraisers to bar mitzvahs, for five years.

DJ K Stein mixes her own music, citing her specialties as hip-hop, house, and Top 40. She was asked to DJ at Pacha, a club in Manhattan, and had the opportunity to play alongside DJ Jumping Jay of New York City’s biggest Spanish radio station, La Mega 97.9.

Stein was also discovered and featured this past summer in Rome, Italy, while on a Pace travel course, where she was asked to perform in front of a crowd of over 100 people at the well-known Scholars Lounge.

“The immense feeling of happiness that I got when listening to music was the sole reason why I began to DJ,” Stein said. “I want to create music that brings people joy and excitement just as it does for me.”

DJ K Stein is no stranger to Pace events as well. She was recently the DJ for Delta Phi Epsilon’s formal this past spring, and will also be playing next month at a townhouse homecoming event.

What’s next for DJ K Stein? She recently landed an internship at Viacom/MTV in Manhattan, where she will be working in public relations for the communications department. Stein will also be graduating from Pace this May as a member of the Honors College, and hopes to continue working in the industry she loves.

“In the future, I see myself definitely still working in the entertainment industry, whether it is for a production company or a music label,” Stein said. “I always want to be involved in creating and producing music and other kinds of entertainment; but, regardless of where I get placed in life, I still want to make the best of it.”

While she knows that working with music would certainly keep her happy, Stein reveals that she will still know how to find happiness in whatever she does.

But for now, her headphones are in, the music is loud, and DJ K Stein is giving the crowd the songs they want to hear.