Kansas City DJ returns to rally new students, praises his Northwest experience

Kansas City DJ returns to rally new students, praises his Northwest experience

A Northwest Missouri State University alumnus returned to campus this month to help welcome first-year students - an opportunity that also had him reflecting on how the University helped lay his foundation for a fun and fulfilling career in the broadcasting arena.

Steve Serrano was at home as he rallied students, introduced Northwest personalities and handed out prizes during the Aug. 21 convocation in Bearcat Arena - a place where, as an undergraduate student, he led halftime entertainment for Bearcat basketball games.

Today, Serrano is the operations manager for Steel City Media and its radio affiliates, KMXV Mix 93.3, KCKC 102.1 Bob FM and KFKF Country 94.1, for which he also serves as an on-air personality.

He has taken roles as a host on KCWE-TV and assists with multiple charity events throughout the Kansas City area. Serrano also hosts Mix 93.3's mobile DJ and production company and works as the official DJ for the Kansas City Chiefs and Kansas City Comets.

In addition to acquiring two Super Bowl rings since beginning his partnership with the Chiefs in 2021, Serrano has snagged exclusive interviews with Kevin Bacon, Carly Rae Jepsen, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, among other stars. He once DJ'd a Halloween party for Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, too.

This summer, Serrano was a DJ for FIFA World Cup games in Kansas City. He also appears regularly as a guest host on KCTV5's "My KC Live."

"I get to do a job every single day and have fun," Serrano said. "It's never the same thing for me. I get to be involved with sports. I get to have a great career with the radio station, and it's not about how many different places I've been. I get to have fun every single day."

Serrano graduated from Northwest in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in broadcasting and built his résumé by working for the campus radio stations, KXCV and KZLX 106.7 FM. He also was a sports anchor on the campus television station, KNWT-TV.

With a speech communication minor, he appeared at Bearcat basketball games and served as an announcer for Bearcat baseball as a way to get in front of live audiences and hone his public speaking skills.

"That's why I chose Northwest over other schools because I was able to get started right as a freshman, and at other schools I knew I had to wait until I was a junior - and that was not going to be a way for me to be successful," Serrano said. "I was able to get on the radio station. I was able to be on the TV station right away. I was able to work for the athletic department right away. All those things gained experience that then helped me find a job right when I was done."

By the time he completed his Northwest degree, Serrano was well on his way to establishing himself in the Kansas City broadcast market. He began his career with Mix 93.3 as a summer intern in 2004 and transformed that into an on-air shift the next year. He hit the Kansas City radio waves as a full-time on-air personality in 2008 and was named program director at Mix 93.3 in 2016.

"I was able to make mistakes in college to make sure that I was prepared for those big-time jobs," Serrano said. "I was able to do an internship. I was able to do radio. I was able to do TV. I was able to do sports. Everything that I wanted to do, I was able to pretty much try at Northwest, and that's what really helped me be able to go someplace else because I had the real-life experience. I wasn't just reading a book. I was able to actually get out there and do it."