Gladstone High School is pleased to welcome Jenifer Gayner as our new dance coach starting in the 2024-25 season.
"I'm very excited about being the GHS dance coach, and I couldn't imagine holding this position anywhere else," she said.
A 2020 graduate of GHS, Gayner danced with the Gladettes all four years here and served as our dance team's captain during her senior year.
After graduation, Gayner had a wide range of professional experiences that prepared her for leading the Gladettes as a coach. She served as the Gladette's team manager under GHS's former head dance coach Michelle Nhem and was an assistant dance coach at Mountain View High School in Vancouver, Washington.
Gayner studied psychology at Grand Canyon University. Helping run operations for the Arizona Cardinals, she worked to get fans in and out of the stadium safely and problem solved technological challenges on game days. She also learned the ins-and-outs of crowd control and customer service working for Kroger and Target.
Now as a treatment specialist for Cascadia Health, Gayner brings her psychological expertise for a "whole athlete approach" to coaching. That means she strives not only to encourage students to be good athletes, but also to be good people.
"With the longest season among all state-sanctioned activities, dance can be a grueling contact sport that's very rewarding in a supportive environment," she said.
Gayner has already met with the Gladettes' team captains to discuss mental health and how best to support students throughout the season. Lots of students seeking to join the Gladettes attended a successful informational session with Gayner during lunch on Sept. 9.