Eszter Chappell is stirring up the Westwood DJ scene with her unapologetic confidence and energy.

The first-year business economics student – also known as DJ ST3RR – said she began DJing with her own DJ deck after unwrapping it for Christmas in 2023. Before that day, she said she had been exploring her interest in DJing in more casual settings with friends’ equipment and through her love of music curation. At UCLA, Chappell said she has taken over DJ sets at different fraternities and recently played her own set at Canary in Santa Monica. Not only does Chappell enjoy using her knowledge of music to curate diverse setlists, but she also values the power of DJing in building community, she said.

“That’s something I love – just being able to create a moment in time where everyone is living their best life and having an amazing time,” Chappell said. “That’s fulfilling to me.”

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Chappell said an important part of her journey into the DJ scene is the confidence it took to put herself out there. Some of her first DJ experiences at UCLA included approaching fraternity DJs and asking to take over their sets, she said. A notable memory was on “St. Fratty’s Day” at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2024. Chappell said the fraternity DJ was lacking energy during his longer set, so she stepped forward and offered to jump in and played an hourlong set that partygoers enjoyed. She said some attendees appreciated a female DJ among the myriad of male DJs they usually see.

“These girls who I had never met before came up to me afterwards, and they were like, ‘Oh my God. We’ve never seen a girl DJ. This is so cool. We’ve never seen that at a frat party,’” Chappell said.

Being a female DJ has posed some unique hurdles, Chappell said, because the expectations are higher than for her male counterparts. Chappell said this double standard even caused her to be denied an invitation to stay at a fraternity for Summer Session C when she declined the request of two members who wanted to take over her personal DJ set. Chappell said the unequal treatment of female DJs motivates her even more to hone in on her skills and her authentic passion for the art rather than the appreciation it rouses from others.

An important aspect of a DJ set, Chappell said, is to ensure the enjoyment of every person in the crowd. She said she makes sure to include a diverse range of songs and remixes when preparing a set and often curates them specifically to the crowd she knows she’ll play to. When DJing a sisterhood event for her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, she said she used her previous knowledge of her sorority sisters’ music tastes to curate a specific set including artists such as Charli xcx and Lorde.

Chris Chappell, Eszter Chappell’s father, said his daughter’s ability to cater to the crowd – in addition to her rich background in music – allows her to be intentional about her work. She took piano lessons when she was younger and was educated in music theory, he said. In addition to her education, Eszter Chappell has a natural musical instinct and understanding that allows her to detect quality songs and explore a variety of new artists and genres, Chris Chappell said.

“She’s a good marketer, ever since she was a little kid,” Chris Chappell said. “She knows how to put herself out there in the right way.”

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Eszter Chappell plans to keep taking initiative and said she aims to make a song of her own this summer. During the upcoming school year, she said she intends to take up a music industry minor and pursue a career in the music business, specifically artist management. In terms of DJing, Chappell said she would love to live in Europe to explore the rich music scene and further her DJ career professionally while growing her personal style and skill set.

Mina Mosharaf, a second-year political science and sociology student and sorority sister of Chappell, said she bonded with the DJ over their shared love of house music when they met during sorority rush this fall. Mosharaf said she has been to many of Chappell’s sets, even inviting her to DJ smaller events Mosharaf hosted in her dormitory. She added that she is constantly impressed by Chappell’s adaptability, openness, experimentality and energy as a DJ.

“She’s very unapologetically herself,” Mosharaf said. “She’s never afraid to make her mark and put herself out there and just be herself. She doesn’t ever try to make herself less or quieter than she needs to be.”

Mosharaf added that Chappell’s versatility and energy shone during her first professional set at Canary on May 3. Chappell said she had to learn her way around the venue’s deck only hours before she played, and she picked unique songs and remixes because she was the closing set. She said she felt truly happy after her performance because it showed her how her form of creative expression can connect deeply with others.

“I can share my passion for music with people, and they’re going to love it and enjoy it and tell me, ‘Your set was amazing,’” Chappell said.