10-year-old professional DJ

Probably because I’m a baby-boomer, I will never lose my sense of wonder that this is what’s possible, now – 10-year-olds able not just to dream about the future but start making it happen while they’re dreaming. To wit: 5th-grader Niel Mac is a professional EDM disc jockey in El Paso, Texas, who just started a blended school-plus-home-study solution because he’s “about to start traveling” for DJ gigs (“EDM” stands for electronic dance music, which is said to blend a sense of community with the kind of music that gets people moving). He’s been doing school dances in his hometown for about two years, he told YPulse. What really helped him take off and become a professional was finding his teacher-mentor DJ Dragon XL on Craigslist. He now uses the Web and social media to share his portfolio and spread the word. “I have two videos on YouTube,” he told YPulse, “but most of my mixes are on SoundCloud, I have about six or seven mixes up. Without my Web site, I probably wouldn’t be known as much. It advertises me and it gives me PR. If I’m playing somewhere and someone tries to look up DJ Niel Mac and there’s nothing, then they’re never going to learn more about me or hear what I do other than just what they heard without being online.”

It’s inspiring to see how a child no longer has to stay on the outside looking in at a career, but rather try it on and run with it as far as he or she wants to go – with hard work, social media and supporters who love him or her enough to join the adventure.

Related links

• “Young change agents leveraging social media”
• “12-year-old New Zealander’s mixed-media publishing business”
• “Trying out a real career in a virtual world”
• “Courageous 13-year-old change agent”