By Craig Horleman

DOVER — At 15, Sophia Clayton is already crossing items off her bucket list.

Known professionally as DJ Sophia Rocks, the Caesar Rodney High School sophomore carried out one longtime wish Monday, as she performed at the White House Easter Egg Roll, meeting Delaware’s own President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden.

Sophia played four sets throughout the day for the more than 40,000 attendees on the South Lawn.

“I really wanted to make this happen. I really got my dad, (Dave Clayton,) involved and asked him about this. And then, we got the governor’s office involved. And I really just put the big ask out there,” she said.

“They told me it was going to happen. But, of course, you can’t really believe everything everybody says. Some people say that they’ll do something, and then, they don’t, or sometimes, they just forget. But I really had faith in the governor’s office, and they pulled through definitely with this one, really big. I’m really grateful for them. The whole team really pushed to get this event through with all the logistics and everything behind it. It really came about through time and patience.”

Her appearance in Washington was the latest in a long line of significant moments for Sophia. A professional DJ since age 6, she has been performing at New York Knicks games for four seasons; was part of NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis and supported the Jr. NBA program in February; became the youngest act to perform at Dover’s Firefly Music Festival when she was 14; and has played for private events with such celebrities as Jamie Foxx, Gabrielle Union, Dwyane Wade and Usher.

Now, she can add meeting the president and first lady to that list. The egg roll was preceded by a breakfast at the White House, which she, her family and other performers attended.

“We took a picture with the president. He was super nice. His hands were super soft. I didn’t expect that. We got to talk for like two seconds because they were behind schedule because of the weather. There was actually a lightning delay,” Sophia said.

The Bidens discussed their Delaware connection with her.

“We told them that I was from Delaware. They were really excited about that. He asked, ‘Where in Delaware?’ He asked me where I went to high school, and he was clearly familiar with (Caesar Rodney). He asked my age, and I told him that I DJed, of course. We were out of there because there was already a delay, and so, we had to speed it up. We had to get out there, and he had to do the remarks, as well,” Sophia said.

She performed sets that ranged between a half-hour and 45 minutes, starting at about 12:30 p.m. and doing her last spot at 5.

“It was all fun,” Sophia said, adding that her set list was closely scrutinized by the White House.

“They just didn’t want anything negative getting played or anything inappropriate being played, which is obvious. And, of course, I followed that. I had to review the entire list with them, which we’re used to. That’s what I do over at the New York Knicks. So, it wasn’t a problem at all,” she said.

“The (musicians) that I played couldn’t have a bad history. They couldn’t have any charges against them or be in jail or anything. So, it’s all positive, with good people and good music.”

She added that she enjoyed witnessing the young people taking in the tunes at the event dubbed “Easter EGGucation.”

“That’s really where I started my whole career, with kids and DJing for them. Seeing them all there and having a good time, it brought back that spark from when I was little, seeing everybody dance and smile to the music that I was playing,” Sophia said.

Her mother, Nicole Clayton, enjoyed the gathering, as well.

“I had a blast. I always wanted to take her to the Easter egg roll when she was little. But we never got picked in the lottery. So, I was super excited with it, even though she was a little older than I would have liked to take her,” Ms. Clayton said.

“Sophia and I walked around, and we tried to do all of the things that they would let us do that didn’t have age restrictions on them. Some of the things she was too old for.”

So, did she think her daughter was going to pull this off?

“If you’d asked me that question a few years ago, I think I would have been less secure in the thought that it can happen. But she has been able to do so many things, I actually did think it was possible. And the governor’s office, they just seemed like, ‘Oh, no, it’s going to happen,’” Ms. Clayton said.

Along with performing at the egg roll, Sophia and her family got to tour parts of the White House and meet other DJs and dignitaries.

“I did meet a lot of different people there, and I hope it definitely will lead me into bigger and better opportunities. The first lady said she liked my Facebook post, which was really cool. So, I’m hoping that maybe I’ll get invited back next year or do something else with the White House or with anybody,” Sophia said.

“They had a lot of different things and events there. YouTube Kids was there. They had NASA people that were there. So, maybe even doing something like that or with small programs that were there, as well. I hope I will be able to network and get different events that will fire off me doing the White House.”

While she couldn’t say much about what she has upcoming, Sophia is involved with Femme It Forward, a female-led entertainment company that centers on celebrating, educating and empowering women. It’s run by Heather Lowery, a New Castle native.

Plus, Sophia is part of Black Girls Rock!, an enterprise that hosts an annual awards show of the same name to promote Black women’s achievements. It also has a nonprofit arm that teaches leadership skills and develops confidence in young girls.

The teen DJ does all this while balancing home and school life.

“I definitely think it is really hard to manage, but you just have to have really good time management and stick to a schedule. I really try and work on that and fix my schedule. But it really depends on what I have coming up,” she said of her many obligations, which also include a YouTube channel under her @DJSophiaRocks social media platform

“If I have a video I need to finish in a certain amount of days or if I have an unboxing video, sometimes I have to put my real-life stuff to the side for a second and just actually focus in and dial in on DJing. So, it’s really hard sometimes, especially with schoolwork and me missing days and stuff like that, having to catch back up on the work or a test.

“And then, I run track. So, that really has taken a toll on my schedule, as well, because I don’t even get home until like 5:15 now. So, I go right from track basically to dinner and then DJ practice, and then, by that time, I’m ready to go to bed.”

Regardless of her busy life, she said she has her eyes on the future.

“We’re just going to be moving forward and trying to get into new, different things. I’m really hoping that, maybe this year or next year, I’ll be in some magazines and stuff like that. Maybe we can work with the Grammys or do more festivals, like Coachella,” she said.

“Big things that everybody can see me at and (where) I can express my love for my music and my passion to everybody, no matter the age or wherever you are in the world.”