Spectrum had their annual Homecoming Dance on October 11th and for many students it was a night to remember. This dance had a Western theme which was selected by the Student council. This theme allowed for some changes to the typical music played at these dances. The dance had more of an emphasis on country style music in order to incorporate the theme.
This music, which contributed to the theme and the dance, was put together by staff member and resident DJ, Clint Haley.
Haley has been DJing our Spectrum dances since 2015 and his presence at dances is expected by many students. Haley devotes lots of time before each dance putting together songs and lighting in order for students to have a good dance experience.
Haley said, “There’s a lot of times where I’m just digesting the music and a song request for each dance two weeks in advance and I’m listening to the top 100 and I’m finding out what’s big on the charts.”
Haley has to do prep before the dance which includes looking over these songs as well as spending hours the day of the dance setting up equipment and testing speakers and lights to ensure everything runs smoothly. Haley pays attention during the dance to make sure that the songs are matching the energy of the students. He is quick to adjust songs when they are not being enjoyed by students.
Pryor Deusterman, a Spectrum Junior, said, “He knows what we want and he can sense the vibe. He changes it up so you never know what’s coming. So it can be a lot of fun like he’ll throw on something that everyone knows the dance to and then that can be a lot of fun, but then he’ll do something totally random. So it keeps you on your toes.”
Haley tries hard to form a connection with Student’s. Part of how he does this is with a speech at each dance. Haley will pull a line from a song and use it to encourage students and to lift them up.
Haley said, “When I’m DJing I’m always thinking of like opportunities to just encourage students. There have been times years ago you know, one of the song requests was a song that had to do with suicide prevention and I just incorporated that into a time where I could explain the song a little bit before playing it. Encourage students if they’re struggling to reach out to people.”
Haley pours time, energy, and joy into every dance he DJs, and he does all of this for Spectrum students. For all of Haley’s work both for dances and other events we hope he is acknowledged properly. Look out for Haley at the next Spectrum dance or event you attend, he will be behind the scenes working hard.