Kerin Kirby George's career Boom

Kerin Kirby George claims she is extremely shy and introverted. But the way in which the radio broadcaster interacts with her audience on from 6-9 am on weekdays, it’s hard to believe that she isn't always the life of the party.

Kirby, as she is fondly called by her co-workers and Boom 94 listeners, is a natural as a radio personality. But, she told WMN, because of the traditional way in which she was raised, what she now sees as her “whole career” and an avenue through which the public gets to hear a different side of her, was probably the last thing she expected to fall in love with – and at urban radio station Boom no less. “I came from corporate prior to being in media. I went through the whole ‘go to school, get a perfect job’ thing because I come from a very traditional family. My background is in HR, and I was pretty good at it, but I felt like I wasn’t doing as much as I was meant to do. I felt like I was made to do more. I didn’t know what it was, but being in an office environment felt very stifling,” the Morning Pump co-host told WMN, in her proper and eloquent manner.

But one day she just realised she couldn’t do it any more, got up and left – a decision that didn’t sit too well with her mother.

“My mom has had the same job for 18 years, so coming from a home like that it was very unorthodox to just leave your corporate job, your security and everything…She looked at me like, ‘you are crazy’. She was mad for about six months.”

Kirby has been working at Boom for over a year. Prior to that she had been at Hott 93 for four years, and before that she had done an eight-month internship at Sweet 100, training under experienced and respected broadcasters like Mark Anthony and Allan Diaz.

“The foundation was really good because they come from old school. I always took their advice really seriously because of their years of experience. At that time when I went into radio, radio was making a transition from the mainstream and very stringent way of reporting and telling stories, and even speaking on the radio, to a bit more laxed. And this is where urban radio, one of the biggest markets on radio, comes in.”

She said although Hott 93 was a little bit more laxed than the adult contemporary Sweet 100, it was still a little bit scripted. It was while at Hott 93 that she got an unexpected job offer that changed the trajectory of her career plans.

“I was just there going about my business and got a call one day that Boom 94 was interested in hiring me. Initially, I wasn’t interested because I had never done urban radio before and I didn’t think it was me.”

But after giving it some thought, though, she decided it was an opportunity to do something different.

“It was also about curiosity and being able to expand as an announcer and broadcaster across different stations and their cultures.”

Kirby told WMN since working at Boom, the genre of the station has brought out a side of her that only family and friends are used to seeing and hearing.

“Generally, I would just be very straight in any environment in which I don’t know people, and I’ve heard a lot of people say I come off as being not very personable, very unfriendly. But these listeners demand a lot from you.They want to know everything that’s going on in your life,” she chuckled loudly.

“Not many people knew that I’m very athletic, that I’m a brown belt karateka, that I played football at Corpus Christi College, and that I'm a very outdoorsy person," just like she never knew the field of journalism was so wide and multi-faceted until she started doing an associate degree in Journalism and Public Relations at Costaatt.

“I started the programme because I thought PR should be something good for me for personal development, you know, because I'm really shy. Journalism was part and parcel of the degree.”

During the semester break she decided to keep busy doing something journalism-related, because she knew if she didn’t it would be difficult to get back into her study pattern when classes resumed.

“I realised that journalism wasn’t just about the news reports, so I said, ‘don’t go too big. No internship in the people’s newspapers or TV stations. Try something small and just get your feet wet.’”

She did a six-week broadcasting course, then moved on to the advanced class when she was told she had a knack for it.

“That’s when I got the internship at Sweet 100 and that’s where me being on radio started.”

The Maraval resident said working at Boom has opened her eyes to how many things she, as a “sheltered” child, has taken for granted. For even though there are things she has in common with some of her listeners, there are a lot of other interesting situations they talk about that she would have never experienced.

“But even though I may not always be able to relate to their personal situations, the connection is there and it makes them open up to us. The show gives them a safe space and it’s good to know that they feel comfortable opening up to us.”

She said when she first became a member of the team, Jerome "Rome" Precilla and D Ultimate Dj Shane De Here, tweaked the structure of the programme to suit their dynamic. They initially had to work on their on-air chemistry, which eventually became a lot more natural.

“Once we understood each other’s personalities for the first couple of months, we figured out strong points and low points. We plan what we want to say and we try to keep to the script, but we often just end up going with the flow.”

Because they practically accompanying people on their commute to work and school on mornings, Kirby said they decided on creating a family-type radio environment that’s not too heavy, even though they discuss current events.

“We consider the mood and stress levels of listeners. Also, we know that there are kids listening at that time, and that’s a big thing for us…We also consider that we set the tone for the rest of the day for our listeners, so it’s always a balance of bringing the serious but keeping it light.”

She said both she and Rome share similar sentiments about young people when it comes to creating opportunities for them and a grave concern for those who may be slipping through the cracks.

“My mother always tells me I have a thing for children and young people, and I am constantly thinking of how I could be of value to them. I am still trying to figure out.

“I see a lot of openings in which I want to help, but I’m not sure how to go about it. Do I try to navigate and see how best I can fit myself into something that is already in place, or do I create something of my own for young people? We have lots of NGOs, but I feel like we don’t have a solid structure or plan for the youth. Everything is just scattered. Everyone just seems to operate on their own.”

Kirby said having come from a very large extended family is one of the reasons why her interest in the needs of children and young people are so strong.

“We are very close knit and there is always a bunch of kids running around. They have opened really my eyes to the need of so many young people out there.”

And now that she has made media her career of choice, she said she wants to explore the opportunities that present themselves and see where they lead, hoping to also find her avenue to helping young people along the way.

Ultimately, she said, her media goal is TV, as long as she can get over one major hurdle.

“I want to have a TV show. The only problem is, if you put cameras and lights on me I become like a wet fowl. Nobody even has to be there looking at me. That’s something I have to work on overcoming.”

Once that happens, she envisions herself being involved in grand productions, especially those involving TT culture.

“That is a big thing for me. I see myself doing a lot of shows like the Dimanche Gras and Panorama. I’m a Carnival baby, and from a child I’ve watched Allyson Hennessy doing Carnival events and Queen of Carnival Allyson Brown. That’s where I see myself eventually, but I obviously have to get over my fear of standing in front of the camera,” she said with a loud Boom laugh.