Baruch College is home to students with talents that reach far beyond the classroom, and DJ Marcos is a leading example of that talent.
Music surrounded DJ Marcos from a young age. One of his first memories goes back to a radio event his father helped run when he was three years old. A DJ was set up nearby, playing songs for the crowd, and Marcos couldn’t look away. Noticing his curiosity, his father lifted him up, and Marcos pressed the jog wheel. Something about that moment clicked. “That was the moment when I knew this is what I want to do,” he said.
When he first arrived at Baruch, DJ Marcos didn’t expect DJing to become such a major part of his college life. Then he found WBMB, Baruch’s student radio station, and entered a campus music scene that gave him space to grow. What started as a passion quickly became something larger.
“I wasn’t expecting it when I first committed back in high school,” DJ Marcos told The Ticker.
Clubs began requesting him for events, students recognized his sets and his name started circulating across campus. Through WBMB and student clubs, DJ Marcos found a place to help turn campus events into spaces where students could show up, dance and feel connected.
Still, DJ Marcos shared the work it takes to create the music is more effort than most people realize.
During busy weeks, DJ Marcos plans around Thursday night events, uses Fridays and Sundays for homework and fits in rest whenever his schedule allows.
“I get home around 10 o’clock, I get to doing my homework and go to sleep,” he said.
This spring semester brought more requests and events like WBMB’s Spring Fling, and less time to pause. He also discussed the challenge of making different crowds feel included without losing his own touch. At Baruch, different cultures and crowds bring different sounds, so DJ Marcos asked friends for recommendations, studies what people respond to and keeps expanding what he can play.
Finding that balance now defines his style. Marcos wants to honor his own taste while giving the crowd what it needs. He doesn’t depend on strict formulas or music theory. Instead, he trusts his ear and his emotions.
“I just play with the heart,” he said. For him, every set changes depending on the room, the mood and the people in front of him.
DJ Marcos also wants his work to create room for Dominican culture on campus. He has seen other communities bring major cultural moments to Baruch, including artists and performances that gave students something to gather around. Those examples pushed him to imagine what Dominican students could build next.
“If they [others] can do it, why can’t we?” he said. He hopes to bring more Dominican artists, interviews and performances to campus while helping students feel represented through music.
Looking toward the next semester, DJ Marcos plans to keep improving, perform at more events and build his name beyond campus. Students can stay tuned for future events and find him on Instagram and YouTube as djmarcosnyc.
For now, his story at Baruch still feels like it is just beginning, but the sound he has created already carries far beyond the booth.
