Robin Rock is passionate about enjoying life to the fullest, connecting with people through radio, and encouraging and supporting others.
Rock is a DJ for iHeartMedia in Chicago on WLIT 93.9, and is on the air from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Rock also has radio shows in San Antonio and Portland. She has worked for iHeartMedia for over 20 years.
“I have always loved music. Music is really therapy because no matter what your mood is or what you’re feeling, you can go and find a song, an artist, a genre that connects with that. It’s always been my outlet and I dove right into it right out of high school.”
After high school, Rock was working at Pizza Hut in DeMott, Indiana and was saving up to go to college because she wanted to go into radio. One day while she was working, a guy from a local radio station came in and talked to her. He said she should come by the station and apply. The radio station didn’t have an open position at the time, but they liked Rock and hired her a couple weeks later when there was a position available.
Rock said she was exactly where she was supposed to be in order to seize that opportunity.
“I truly believe God puts you where you’re supposed to be at exactly the right time.”
This began her career in radio, and she did everything she could in order to learn more about radio during her time.
“I was like a sponge. I was soaking it all up because I wanted to learn it all,” she said.
Rock grew up in the DeMotte/Wheatfield area and then worked at radio stations across Northwest Indiana. She first started her career in Rensselaer, next worked in Valpo, then South Bend, and then worked for Interstate Radio Network before taking a position in Chicago. For Rock, working in radio allowed her to be really involved in the communities and strengthened her love for Northwest Indiana.
Although Rock recently moved to Chicago in November, she lived in Northwest Indiana her entire life and is passionate about her home state. She said moving to Chicago was difficult because she misses being in Indiana.
“That’s part of being brave – embracing an opportunity and looking at it as an opportunity,” she said.
Rock also does a weekly podcast with GreatNews.Life’s very own Jenny Craig-Brown titled "What’s Fun in Northwest Indiana." Each Wednesday, the two talk about fun opportunities coming up in the area, which stems from their passion for the Northwest Indiana community.
Rock loved growing up in Northwest Indiana and learning all about the communities. She’s passionate about how many fun opportunities and different kinds of pastimes there are in Indiana. Rock enjoys the many local restaurants and breweries that Northwest Indiana communities have to offer.
“Even though I live in Chicago, my heart will always be in Indiana.”
Rock is also passionate about the strong women in her family who inspire her, especially her three daughters Aly, Chael, and Grace. Rock loves to talk about her daughters, how strong they are, and their accomplishments because they are her encouragement her each day.
“Every one of them has had challenges and every one of them inspires me,” she said. “Every single day.”
Rock was one of the speakers at GreatNews.Life’s All About the Girls (AATG) Part 4 event last year, where she spoke about her oldest daughter who was involved in a life-changing accident 10 years ago. Rock said that Aly’s strength in dealing with this and then using it to help others is so inspiring to her.
Her youngest daughter got Rock interested in running, and Rock has done many of her races with her daughters. She recently completed the Ragnar Relay Race from Chicago to Madison, Wisconsin as a fundraiser for Girls on the Run of Northwest Indiana.
Rock is involved with Girls on the Run and enjoys being part of an organization that encourages young girls and women. Rock also loved speaking at AATG because it’s an event centered around empowering and inspiring women.
“It makes me so proud to be a part of it because there are so many things that happen in this life, and more times than not you need that support,” Rock said. “For somebody to say ‘Hey, you’re doing the best you can, you got this,’ and for organizations like Girls on the Run to show you that early on in life, to lift you up early and show you what you’re capable of – that’s huge. I love organizations like that.”
Check out some of Rock’s work, including her "What’s Fun in Northwest Indiana" podcast here.