Carolyn Droke Interview
Carolyn Droke has been working full-time at Uproxx for a few years now. As she was graduating from college, she met a site editor at a music festival and "a few months later got hired as a weekend music blogger and have been at Uproxx ever since. Working a 9-5 on the weekends and holding down two jobs fresh out of college fueled my desire to work towards a full-time position." Three years later, she’s the Assistant Editor at Indie Mixtape, Uproxx’s indie music vertical. In this excerpt from our interview, Carolyn describes how her approach to her work has changed.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
As someone who grew up on a small island in the Pacific Northwest, I would listen to and obsess about music as a form of escapism. My dream had always been to work as a music journalist in some capacity, but the only publication I really knew about/had access to was Rolling Stone at the time. I went to college in Chicago and joined my school’s radio station as a DJ before getting hired as the station’s Music Director. Because I went to college in a city with countless shows and music festivals, I was able to get my start in music journalism by covering local shows and festivals. My school also committed to paying us a wage for our work, which is not common with other university radio stations, so I was able to have the resources to dedicate my time to reviewing albums and shows. I met a former Uproxx editor at a music festival I was attending and a few months later got hired as a weekend music blogger and have been at Uproxx ever since. Working a 9-5 on the weekends and holding down two jobs fresh out of college fueled my desire to work towards a full-time position. Three years later, I’m now the Assistant Editor at Indie Mixtape, Uproxx’s indie music vertical.
Did you have any mentors along the way? What did they teach you?