Regarding her stage name, she said, “As with every great nickname, the ‘Mystery Girl’ stage name was given to me by someone else. I always felt like you can’t give yourself your own nickname; it’s something that’s bestowed upon you. When I first started out at WPKN, a few of the veteran hosts/djs took me under their wing. DJ Mondavi was one of them. One of the first times I was on the air at WPKN was on his show. Right before we were about to go on-air he says to me, ‘Do you want me to use your real name?’ It wasn’t something I had thought about previously, but after he mentioned it I decided that I didn’t want my name used. I didn’t want my day job as a news reporter to cross over into my radio gig. As a reporter, I had to maintain a certain image: rigidly professional, politically correct, objective. But radio gave me the freedom to be myself; I could be creative, opinionated, open, laid back. So my answer to DJ Mondavi was ‘No, don’t use my name.’ When he asked what I wanted to be called I didn’t have an answer. Without saying anything else, he flipped up the on-air switch and said live, ‘I have a mystery girl on the show tonight,’ and that’s how we got started. The name stuck and Mystery Girl was born. I decided to take it a step further by not revealing my eyes to my listeners along with my name. Mystery Girl always wears shades in photographs, videos, at events, etc. If you go through social media, you won’t find any evidence of Mystery Girl without her shades on. And as you can see, she’s so much her own entity that I often refer to myself in third person using words like ‘her’ and ‘she’ when I’m talking about myself as Mystery Girl.”
She has been with WPKN 89.5 FM for over four years now, but I’ve been hosting there as Mystery Girl for about two years. “It’s a community, listener-supported radio station that runs off of contributions. Because of that, the programmers there are volunteers, strictly there because of their love for radio. I started out at WPKN with a late night 2 a.m. shift and slowly moved my way up to morning and afternoon slots. Since it’s not a traditional paying job, it has always been something I did on the side part-time. But over the last year, my love for radio, music, entertainment, and talking to people has made me shift gears in making Mystery Girl a priority. So I started to really put my time into building the ‘Mystery Girl Radio’ brand, which includes my radio show at WPKN, a newly launched pod-cast and blog, a concept for a comic superhero character in the works, events, merchandise on the way, and more. My main platform right now is the live radio show. It’s called ‘Shut Up & Listen’ with Mystery Girl and features interviews with people making waves in the music and entertainment industry (singers, songwriters, musicians, djs, producers, TV personalities, etc.). While I focus on people in or around Connecticut and the tri-state area, I’ve been working on expansion. People can listen in Connecticut and surrounding areas on WPKN 89.5 FM or worldwide at WPKN.org or the WPKN app.”
Her plans for the future include continuing to build up the Mystery Girl Radio brand into a full-blown empire and career. “I want this to be my full-time job. I want Mystery Girl Radio to be recognized as a household name. I want every woman to see a Mystery Girl in herself. I won’t give away too much, but things are in the works,” she said.
She is motivated by two main forces. “The first is simply the goal to have the freedom to be me, whether it’s as this character Mystery Girl or as something else. My dream to be successful on my own terms and not by someone else’s rules or standards keeps me going. My vision to be an entrepreneur and work hard every day doing something I love, not something that just gets me by, is what I reach for. That’s important to me and that’s why I keep doing this. That’s what Mystery Girl really represents- the freedom to be whoever you want to be no matter what anyone else says or thinks. My second motivating force is my support system, the people who believe in Mystery Girl. Not everyone understands it, but the people who really support and believe in her mean the world to me: my family and friends who push me to keep going and help make my visions reality, and the fans who show constant love and support.”
Her advice for aspiring radio personalities is to stay true to themselves. “It’s a tough industry and a unique career path but if you want it, go get it! I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but I’m also a long way from where I started. So don’t compare yourself to others and just start by putting one foot in front of the other. It’s easy to get lost in what everyone else is doing, especially if they’re further a long than you are. Just keep going and be yourself.”
She listed Stevie Wonder as her dream male interview. “If we’re talking more modern I’d go with Eminem, J. Cole, Diplo, Machine Gun Kelly, Big Sean. That list is all over the place, but so is my taste in music,” she said.
Mystery Girl continued, “As a woman, I’d like to extend my answer to my dream female interviews as well. The majority of my interviewees are men, and I’m always looking to bring more women on the show. With that said, my dream female interview would be Oprah!.She is the true definition of success in the face of adversity and obstacles. I’d also love to interview Angie Martinez, someone I respect and look up to as a young woman in radio. Also on the list: Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Halsey and Bibi Bourelly. All talented women and powerhouses, past and present, marching to the beat of their own drums. I’ve learned from experience that being a woman makes it a bit more difficult to gain the respect deserved. We have to work harder for it unfortunately. I’ve been undermined, look passed, and thought to be less capable simply because I’m a woman. So I never want to leave out the bad-ass women who push through those barriers and stereotypes.”
To learn more about Mystery Girl, check out her official website.
