Kenan Oktay, Historian

Mate #218

Hometown: Rye, NY

Pronouns: He/him/his

Solos: Seventeen

Major: International Relations, concentration in Economics

Kenan was born and raised in Rye, NY. His first exposure to music was when his father urged him to take guitar lessons at the early age of 7. Kenan’s favorite part of these lessons was making fart noises with his mouth and driving the instructor crazy. It wasn’t until the eighth grade that Kenan’s love for guitar supplanted his admiration for fart sounds. Since then, Kenan has loved playing the guitar and listening to and playing jazz music.

Currently, Kenan is studying international relations and French. Outside of class and music, Kenan loves all things hummus (he owns more than one hummus-themed shirt), occasionally attends chess club, and runs the Tufts Humane club.

Kenan has often been referred to as the “Troy Bolton of the Mates” due to his recent exit from the intense sport of rowing into the even more intense world of vocal performance. Although his singing experience isn’t substantial, neither was Troy’s! Kenan is beyond excited to continue singing with ‘Mates and looks forward to what is to come!