{shortcode-7afbb1143f3491fea16a3cf3b16b7ab47a75f339} Say what you want about Annenberg — but one thing they always get right is their music. Timbaland for lunch? TLC for dinner? Mariah Carey for Brain Break? No matter the meal, I feel fed. I feel alive. I feel seen. Whenever I look around while waiting for my slice of grape pizza, I think to myself: Who’s the diva on aux right now? Where in Berg are they?? Can they please share their playlist with me???

And I know I’m not the only one who wonders daily about these mysterious DJs! Every day, I catch many of you Annenberg-goers tapping your foot, humming quietly, or outright singing along. After fanboying from the sidelines for far too long, I had to know more about the people responsible for bringing this amazing energy into Berg.

With “No Scrubs” playing in the background, my investigation brought me all around the food pick-up area, asking both staff and management if there’s someone who usually plays Berg’s immaculate selection of music. Soon enough, I was introduced to one of these icons — and her name is Dolma! Fortunately, she was more than willing to walk me through the art of music curation in Annenberg.

Like any good DJ, Dolma accepts recommendations from the crowd, but don’t be fooled: she herself has immaculate taste, one that has developed after years of listening to every genre under the sun (and not just a certain artist that’s dating someone on the Kansas City Chiefs like some of us…). Her favorite genre is Bollywood music because it reminds her of road trips with its romantic and soothing melodies. (Her favorite Bollywood artist is Arijit Singh!) She also enjoys Korean music, citing artists like BIGBANG, 2NE1, and Blackpink’s Rosé. And as a millennial, she makes sure her mixes include 90s and 2000s music. Lastly, she listens to Tibetan and Nepalian music too, as she was born in Tibet, raised in Nepal, and moved to the Boston area around 15 years ago.

Of course, I had to ask the burning question: Spotify or Apple Music? It turns out that Dolma uses neither! Although she does draw inspiration from Instagram Reels and “the kids,” YouTube is her go-to for creating mixes; her “YouTube is always on,” whether it’s in her car leaving from work or right before bedtime.

Dolma also said music can be important for everyday life at Harvard. Dolma knows how overwhelmed and stressed students can get (especially after we’ve walked into Berg in the same clothes as yesterday after a long night in Lamont) and loves to see students energized by her song choices. It’s especially exciting when students come up to her saying, “I like this music! Who’s playing this music?” She told me, “I personally play music for you guys to cheer up — not only for you guys, but for everybody. I don’t play only one kind of music, like American music. I play Indian, Nepalian, everything, so that way, everybody can enjoy it.”

Just as music brings joy to the student body, Dolma says that it brings joy to the HUDS staff too: “Music brings us all together. Even if we have busy days, music makes them happy; at least, they forget how hard the day is going.” Dolma continued, saying, “I don’t want to stress when I come to work…I wanna enjoy and sometimes have fun at work, not just work!” (Me too, Dolma, me too.)

Needless to say, I walked into Annenberg looking for a DJ — and I left having made a new friend. If you’re like me and enjoy the music at our dining halls, let me remind you to show HUDS some appreciation! They have some of the nicest people on their team — so not only will you get fire music recommendations, but you’ll also have many new faces to say hello to every time you get a meal (maybe it’ll even motivate you to stop spending so much on Felipe’s).

To Dolma and every other undercover DJ that’s part of the HUDS staff, thank you for your tunes! After a long week of psets, readings, lectures, sections, and meetings (the list is endless…), you give our lives a boost of much-needed joy. Maybe you can revive our party scene next.