iHoot’s Uncredited Hero 

The leaders of this world can’t do it on their own. 

Emily DeMotte, a junior and a returning student at iUP, is iHoot’s supporting legs, and the work she does backstage really helps the show go on. From helping our EIC’s with heavy workloads to encouraging our students in the chats, Emily goes far with the crucial job she was given. 

Enthusiastically Emily 

So who exactly is Emily DeMotte? 

To answer that question, Emily is a dancer, a writer, an avid reader, and a Taylor Swift fanatic. She loves to connect with people and especially enjoys being in iHoot, having met a lot of great friends and classmates in the two years she’s been a part of it. When asked about her passions, Emily gushed about dance and said “Dance is a big part of my identity. Being a dancer [and] growing up in the dance community helped me make a lot of my friends [and is] a big part of my life.” 

And like all of us, Emily also has had struggles socially when she moved to iUP from the brick and mortar system. She described that at first she felt a little isolated and it was hard to join a completely different system where there’s not as many chances to make friends or get to know people face to face. It was when she started getting involved in clubs that her online social life improved, and there she met some amazing people. Emily went on to say that a big part of her growth came from being a part of iHoot, having a community to rely on, and being connected to so many kind people. 

Amicable Associate 

Now a lot of you may be wondering: If there’s already a leader, why the need for an Associate Editor? 

To answer that question, the role of an Associate is typically undermined and passed off as unimportant, when in many cases it’s absolutely crucial. One of our EIC’s, Eve Bamber, said this about Emily, “Emily is our right-hand gal, and she’s seriously awesome! As the top editors of iHoot, many random tasks continuously come our way, and Emily helps us out daily!” she continued to say, “[She] is an extremely valued part of the iHoot team! I am so appreciative of her help and enthusiasm, and grateful to work alongside her!” With that, it’s clear that Emily is an essential part of the iHoot community. With all the work that goes into leading a team of over thirty students, Emily makes a huge difference. Not only does she have to deal with her responsibilities with planning events and connecting with students, but she also has to step in when the EIC’s workload is too heavy. 

In regard to her role, Emily said that she understood she wasn’t always in charge but she still uses a lot of different skills, switches positions whenever one is needed to be filled and summarizes that “EIC’s have a lot of responsibilities and I’m there for them whenever they need some support.” 

And though it is hard sometimes, Emily exclaimed that she loved her job and working with the EIC’s to help with iHoot. “It’s been really nice to work with so many people as Associate Editor [such as] helping out when needed, planning things for events… My favorite part is being able to connect with so many people and with the EICs!”  She also included some advice for anyone looking to be Associate Editor in the future, saying “I would recommend this to people looking for a helping role because you are in a place where you can lead but you don’t have as much commitment as EIC’s. [This is also great for when] you’re not so social or don’t enjoy charging forward, but love the behind-the-scenes work!” 

Who You Are and What YOU Can Do

For many roles, it always depends on who you are. 

Many people praise leadership roles and glorify leading the pack when they don’t realize how important it is to also step down and just help. Without the helpers in the world and the behind-the-scenes workers, nothing would ever get done. It’s because of them that the leaders are able to comfortably lead. Emily concluded the interview with a piece of encouragement to our viewers, “Don’t underestimate the role of the background work, because even though we don’t get a lot of attention, without that work a lot of the magic wouldn’t happen.”