The Knight of the Week this week is senior Lea Biwer. She is an emcee who is also involved in ASB, the U, Knights’ Way, and JSOP.
Q: Did you always want to be an emcee?
A: Yeah, seeing them starting freshman year, I thought it seemed like a really cool thing to get to be a part of, especially watching the assemblies last year. I feel like I always worked behind the scenes on the assemblies with ASB, like with the slideshows and the logistics of all that stuff. But I always thought that being an emcee would be super cool.
Q: What was the moment when you were asked to be an emcee like?
A: I was in APUSH, it was my last period, and then Mirandola came to the classroom and asked if I was there. Then he brought me into the hallway, and it was really nice. He said that my name came up in a lot of the discussions when trying to figure out who was going to [be an emcee] next year. It was really cool. It was definitely a surreal moment. I feel like the rest of the class, I did not get anything done.
Q: What is the community like between you and the other emcees?
A: We’re pretty close. I think that we all connected over being in this situation. It’s kind of scary because we’re all put on the spot, and we connected through that nervousness of doing that. So we definitely bonded over that, and it’s easy to communicate with one another, which is really nice.
Q: What was it like to be an emcee for the first time at the spotlight assembly last year?
A: It was crazy. Honestly, it was super fun. It was definitely surreal, though. We were able to run through it a couple times, but it was kind of like we were just thrown into it, like it started and then we just had to go. I feel like I didn’t have time to really process what I was actually doing. But it definitely was really great, and I feel like we all did a really good job.
Q: What has been your favorite moment so far as an emcee?
A: 1Prospect, especially in the beginning of the day. I feel like we had a lot of flexibility, and we were able to play with what we were saying, and try to get the freshmen hyped up. We didn’t even have a script for that one. We just had an agenda, and we worked off each other, which is really fun. And, definitely, we probably embarrassed ourselves a little bit, but it was super fun just singing and yelling or trying to get the crowd going.
Q: What surprised you most about being an emcee and why?
A: I feel like it surprised me that it’s not as serious as it looks. Maybe that’s also because of the personalities that we have together, with me and the other emcees, but I feel like since we’re so prepared, because we are given all the materials and work together beforehand, I feel like the actual assembly itself is not as nerve wracking. It’s honestly not that bad.
Q: What has been your most challenging moment as an emcee and how did you deal with that?
A: [During 1Prospect] the sound system totally blew out, so our microphones weren’t working. But honestly, I was really proud about how we handled that situation. I think that we were communicating with each other, trying to figure out what the next plan is, but in a calm way. I think we found that the best place to be is to not stress about anything. Everything always works out. I think we were listening to each other and trying to work on our feet, come up with creative ways to keep the crowd going. We started doing the fight song, being flexible and adjusting.
Q: If your freshman self could see you as an emcee, what would they think?
A: My freshman self would be absolutely shocked. I think in the past two years, I have grown so much, like confidence wise, and also through my environment, the things at Prospect. So, I think she’d think it was pretty cool, and definitely surprising.
Q: How do you want to impact Prospect culture through your role?
A: I really think it’s just trying to make everyone feel as welcome as they can, especially the underclassmen, and building our school culture. That’s been a nice thing, being able to work with freshmen, like at freshman orientation, and then also at 1Prospect. [We’ve been] showing them that Prospect is such a warm place, and everyone has a place here, and there’s so many places where you can fit in. I remember the emcees from my freshman year, and those senior leaders. I still remember them, and I remember the positive impact that they left on me. I just hope that I’m able to leave an impact on the underclassmen in some way, or make them feel welcome.
