This week, The Argus sat down with the incomparable radio host-musician-writer-dancer-doula Lauren Tran-Muchowski ’25. Soaking up the late October sunshine, the English and American Studies double major shared her journey from California’s Bay Area to the University, reflecting on the profound impact of the people she’s met along the way.

The Argus: Why do you think you were nominated to be a WesCeleb?

Lauren Tran-Muchowski: I don’t know! I was talking about this with Jake [Gale ’25], my housemate, and he was like, “Lauren, you have to know what to say because they always ask this question!” I think I’m just a very social person. I like to be involved with a lot of the different communities Wesleyan has to offer. Sometimes I forget that showing up to all these events does mean that people know who I am, which is funny. But yeah, I feel very honored and very grateful to be here.

A: I know you do a lot of work with student radio at WESU 88.1 FM (WESU) and Sound Co-op. Can you tell me a bit about how that came to be and what you’re up to?

LTM: I knew that I wanted to get involved in radio for a long time. I’ve always tried to discover new music, and having [this] medium and community to do that was so fun. And when I was a kid, my mom was always like, “Lauren, I see you in broadcasting,” and I was like, “That’s not true.” 

And now she’s right. I have two radio shows. One of them is my public affairs show—I’m the Public Affairs Director of WESU— and then another one is my music show, which is called “Minivan, Mega Fun,” playing songs that I would play if my minivan were still alive and well with us today. Rest in peace Mini, the minivan that I grew up with, my family’s childhood car. I think that’s where I developed a lot of my music taste. 

So yeah, when my parents suggested that I look into a college radio station, I was so excited to get involved, and I loved the people. All of the live music stuff here generates a community very fast, because there are only so many bands, so everyone knows everyone.

A: That was my favorite thing about Wesleyan at first. Everyone plays an instrument or sings, and it was the most musical environment I’d ever been in. 

LTM: One hundred percent. Even if people don’t play instruments, they have amazing taste in music and love sharing it. That’s so cool. I’ve been thinking a lot about what my last radio show is gonna look like at the end of senior year. I just know I’m gonna cry because I’ve had a show all four years, and it’s so sad!

A: What do you feel drives you toward music, or toward art in general?

LTM: Prior to Wesleyan, I never considered myself a creative person, really. I was in a band in high school, but I thought I wanted to be a biology major, and both my parents work in science. It’s been a crazy arc. My sister is a sophomore at RISD, and I was always the responsible older sibling, and she was the kooky creative one. So I still don’t know if I’d ever call myself an artist, but what draws me to music, and dance too, is that they’re such embodied ways of feeling a certain thing. Certain frequencies just make me feel right and register with me really deeply. And through my experience with radio and radio journalism, I’m trying to translate my love for that frequency. 

A: Would you say that radio and radio journalism merges the academic with the art? Or are they different things?

LTM: I think so. At least on my public affairs show, where I interview artists and spotlight artists of color, I feel like my interests in English and American Studies have obviously influenced how I interview people and what I decide to talk about, and we always play music alongside that. So I do see the two intersecting, but I’m obviously not like “This is me channeling.” It’s more of an implicit thing. I love interviewing people. There’s something about sharing a conversation with someone that’s really, really, sweet. 

A: How do you feel like the English major plays into all of this? I know you came to it later on.

LTM: This is funny. I remember freshman year I applied for a writing mentor, and the application was like, “Why do you want a writing mentor?” And I was like, “Writing to me feels like constipation.” That’s what I said in the application. I don’t know how to write. I don’t know how to express my ideas. I feel like when I do, it’s just messy. There’s a block, something that’s stopping me from putting words on a page, but I think I’ve grown more comfortable with my voice and learning how to structure ideas. I think writing is so beautiful, and when you read something that’s just so powerful, oh my god. It’s like, I don’t know what to do with myself after this. What is there to life now?

A: I also happen to know that you’re one of the coordinators of the Wesleyan Doula Project, seeing as those meetings happen at my house. How has that shaped your college experience?

LTM: Oh my god, the Doula Project. It’s been extremely formative. I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of a community that’s so focused on care and learning to provide a myriad of ways to support someone. Beyond the Wesleyan space, we’ve been able to interact with UConn medical students and Middletown abortion and birth doulas. I think this is a part of everyone’s life, regardless of whether or not you are interested in reproductive health. Being in the Doula Project, before and after Roe was overturned, has also just been such a crazy experience. Obviously, we are lucky to live in Connecticut, but it’s more important now than ever before.

A: So we’ve got radio and doula, and you dance with FXT, and you’re in Eclectic, and you sing, and you do burlesque, and you’re writing a thesis. How do you hold all of those things at once?

LTM: Okay, so, I don’t. I definitely need to quit something. I’m a pretty anxious person, so I feel like I got that natural calendar, but I don’t even know how I balance it. At least FXT and burlesque and stuff, I don’t really view those as something that I have to do. I think it’s a good way to push my creative muscles. 

A: Like you said before, reaching that frequency outside of work, finding ways to fill up. 

LTM: Exactly. It’s so cool to see people tap into it too, especially with burlesque. I mean, everyone in FXT has experience, and they’re very talented dancers, but it’s not so much that case in burlesque, where people are there to put themselves out there.

A: How do you feel like you’ve changed since your freshman year? Do you move through the Wesleyan space differently?

LTM: I think how I move through the space was always in me, but I feel like I’ve just gotten more comfortable and confident. Not in a cocky way, but in a reassured way, where I trust that I know myself and that I’ll surround myself with people that I love and care about who love and care about me. My high school never went back in person, so I had been socially deprived for a year, and I was ready to put myself out there. At the same time, I was very concerned with my self-image, and Wesleyan is a very different sphere than what I’ve grown up in. 

One thing I’ve definitely gotten more comfortable with is considering myself a creative person, I’ve grown to really tap into my writing and dancing and singing and speaking. It’s definitely been like a journey through insecurity and imposter syndrome, but it’s also been fun socially, feeling assured that everything is gonna be okay.

A: Do you have any particular plans or hopes for after graduation? Work wise or life wise?

LTM: I had a great time studying abroad in China, so I definitely want to spend a good amount of time abroad postgrad again, whether that’s in a Sinophone country or not. My housemates and I, Jake and Emma [Clayton ’25], have been thinking about moving to Australia, or possibly London. I know I’ll continue to write, whether that’s journalism or more reflective essays or criticism, and continue to listen to music, continue to dance, continue to be outside. Probably go home to the Bay Area for a bit, because I miss her so dearly. But those are the main things. Spend time with the people I love and do my best to stay true to myself. 

A: Any final thoughts you want to share with the Wesleyan world?

LTM: Everyone says this, but don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and try things that you never thought you would do. I never thought I’d play in a live band, and it’s so worth it to force your brain to process these new experiences. I want to give a huge shoutout to my family, specifically my mom, my siblings, my dad, and my grandma, my bà ngoại, who’s my mom’s mom, just because I feel like they’ve really instilled a drive within me that I hope to translate to all aspects of my life. They’ve been so supportive throughout. 

I’m the first one to leave the state in my family, so it’s been really, really cool, feeling like I can make them proud. I really appreciate and love my housemates as well. I definitely wouldn’t be here without the love and support that they’ve given me, and I’ve found myself becoming a better person through the people that I love and surround myself with. But yeah, gratitude is the attitude. It rhymes because it’s true.

 

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Sophie Jager can be reached at sjager@wesleyan.edu.