Club Carey: Social ‘dis-dance’ party to fill the graduation celebration gap

A day after the W. P. Carey School of Business virtual convocation ceremony, when graduating students normally could be gathering with friends and family to celebrate earning their degrees, Double Devil Tyler Sherman — the DJ known as Munition — will have set up his turntable, mixer and webcam in his house in Phoenix.

DJ Munition has been mixing music for W. P. Carey live convocation ceremonies every semester since 2014. This year he’ll livestream a 45-minute set of dance music to virtual graduating W. P. Carey students, some possibly wearing their graduation caps with pajamas at home.

“We wanted to do something extra special for graduating students and their families to celebrate each other, say their goodbyes and look to the future with hope and resilience,” said W. P. Carey Dean Amy Hillman. “We’re so proud of them for their achievements — and how they’ve handled the last semester during this uncertain time — we’re just using different tools and environments to let them know.”

“It has been a blast to be able to come back as an alumnus each semester to help celebrate with my fellow Sun Devils and to work with such a great team from W. P. Carey, who are really pushing the bar for what a college experience can be,” said DJ Munition. "This year will be no exception, even during such trying times.”

Though the coronavirus pushed commencement and convocation to online ceremonies, W. P. Carey staff and faculty have shown ingenuity in coping and collaborating to help make the graduation festivities inspiring.

The Class of 2020 digital celebration has continued to expand from a virtual convocation to online Carey ConGRADS and a Grad Celebration Toolkit, where students and their families can download zoom backgrounds, mobile wallpapers, mortarboard templates and social media graphics. W. P. Carey also sent out more than 3,000 Graduation Celebration Boxes to graduating students to enhance their virtual ceremony. The box includes a congratulatory letter from Hillman, confetti, balloons, a license plate cover, a pompom, a webcam cover, tech tattoos, a Sparky pennant, and a window sign stating a “W. P. Carey School of Business Class of 2020 grad lives here!”

The Club Carey livestream dance party with DJ Munition at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, is the culmination of students’ years of hard work inside and outside of the classroom. Besides busting moves to the music, graduating students will hear from Hillman, faculty and more. 

“I’m working closely with the school to make sure we make the best and most unique experience for the graduates as possible while staying safe,” DJ Munition said. “I'll also be taking live requests from viewers.”

Graduating students can share their cap and gown photos, grad pics and unique mortarboard decorations via wpcsocial@asu.edu or by using the hashtag #wpcgraduation.

Celebrate the Class of 2020 with this curated Spotify playlist.