Meet the DJ × Los Angeles Lakers

The opportunity

Students often see the excitement of professional sports without seeing the creative workforce behind the experience. Music, entertainment, video, production, marketing, and live events all contribute to what happens inside an arena and represent real career opportunities.

The Music to the Ears approach

• Introduce students to the creative and business sides of professional DJing
• Connect students directly with a working industry professional
• Explore how music and entertainment careers intersect with professional sports
• Pair career exploration with an immersive, real-world industry experience

The experience

DJ Roueche, Official DJ for the Los Angeles Lakers, joined students to share his career journey and explain how he turned DJing into a full-time profession. Following the workshop, students received a surprise: they were taken to the Lakers vs. Memphis Grizzlies game at Staples Center to see DJ Roueche at work. Students went from hearing about the career to experiencing a real environment firsthand, all in the same day.

Game passes were generously provided by the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation.

The impact

• Direct mentorship from a professional sports and entertainment DJ
• Exposure to the business and career opportunities surrounding DJing
• Professional sports introduced as an ecosystem for creative careers
• A real-world connection between creative learning and the workplace
• An experiential career exploration model that moved students from learning about the work to seeing the work in action