Science Star Meets Dancing Queen

Four-year senior Emma Herold, a resident of Wheelwright Hall, is known across campus for her kind characteristics, but also her broad interests stretching from Asian pop culture to genetics to a well-known activity on campus, ultimate frisbee. Herold is the co-head of Beat of Asia, co-captain of Exeter Ultimate Frisbee, proctor and Student Listener in Wheelwright Hall, and a part of BIO470, the newest biology research course affiliated with Stanford University.One of Herold’s strongest passions on campus is undoubtedly Beat of Asia, an Asian pop dance group that performs difficult choreography that has been staged by members including Herold herself. Stylized as BoA, like the Korean pop singer, the group has grown from a small gathering tied together by a growing K-pop culture to one of the most popular dance groups on campus.Herold said that she was proud of how far BoA has come during her years here at Exeter. “Beat of Asia had about six consistent members when I joined in 2009, and I was the only member of non-Asian descent,” she said. “In my time as co-head, we've expanded to having to having up to 15 active members, with additional students joining for single performances from a wide variety of racial and dance backgrounds.”BoA’s manager, senior Elizabeth Gong, said that Herold was one of the influential members to the progress of the group. “Emma is a great co-head of BoA. She has played a huge role is transforming the club into a wonderful dance group,” Gong said. “Every day, she comes into practice with a smile and teaches dances with both passion and patience. Having such a great friend has really brought an extra splash of vibrant color into my life on campus.”BoA now has their own YouTube channel that is frequently uploaded with videos of their practices and performances. With over 53,000 views and growing, videos from BoA have even been featured in different Korean websites and online cafes.In addition to BoA, Herold is well-known in Exeter for being involved in the frisbee culture that seems to come back every spring term with the warmer weather and greener lawns. She is part of the ultimate frisbee team here, and despite the school underplaying frisbee as a sport, Herold has put in much attempt trying to firmly establish it as an interscholastic sport here at Exeter.“When I joined Exeter Ultimate, we had two senior captains and an experienced coach. However, the same year I became captain as an upper, our coach left her post at the academy, and my co-captain was scheduled out of Club Ultimate,” Herold said. “I spent the year meeting with several members of the athletic department and Dean's office trying to find ways for us to bring in an outside coach, obtain funding, and keep my co-captain on the team. We were assigned a committed and enthusiastic, though inexperienced, athletic intern who served as our monitor for the term, but I became a 'student coach', leading and planning our practices.”After she took up her role as a student coach, Herold has been able to revive the team into a motivated, experienced group of players. Although she played a big role in this, Herold remained humble and credited the two intern coaches for the team’s success this year.“I recruited Ms. Betke-Brunswick, a math intern here at PEA, to be a part-time coach, and the athletic department gave us Coach Tomlinson. Both have been instrumental in keeping students motivated and practices moving,” Herold said.The team attended two tournaments this year, the Andover Invitational and the Cumberland Invitational, receiving Spirit Award trophies at both events while placing well in terms of performance, too.Active in many different communities on campus, Herold remains a positive force in her dorm, Wheelwright Hall, being both a proctor and a Student Listener for the group. “I love my dorm. Being a proctor and student listener has been more of a lifestyle choice, rather than a job,” she said. “Being proctor has been excellent, and I like doing whatever I can do for the dorm.”Many Wheelwright Hall residents said that Herold was more than a great proctor and a Student Listener, but also a caring friend and an understanding peer.“Emma is a really positive personality in the dorm. She sets an example by facing her problems with a cool head and helping others with theirs. I've always felt I could come to her and talk, and she's helped me through my harder times at Exeter. She's always been someone I look up to,” lower Alex Eckert said.Senior Adela Locsin agreed. “In the dorm, Emma has always been someone that has been really easy-going and easy to talk to in the dorm. She's incredibly rational and responsible and dependable,” she said.Wheelwright Hall dorm faculty Barbara Desmond held a lot of compliments for Herold. “She is loved and respected here in The Wheel, known by both students and faculty for being approachable, wise, upbeat, and fun,” she said.Desmond continued, “The qualities that I particularly love in Emma are her openness, her willingness to try anything, and the zeal with which she embraces new interests, however different from her other preoccupations. Emma is full of love and curious about everyone and everything around her. She aspires to, and she lives, the life of knowledge and goodness.”On the academic perspective, Herold is very involved in biology, taking part in the intensive laboratory course BIO470, associated with Dr. Seung Kim’s laboratory at Stanford University.“I’m sort of a TA for BIO470. I have experience working with flies because I worked at Stanford as an intern at the developmental bio lab and did a lot of the work they are doing at the course this summer,” Herold said. “I can guide students. I function as an assistant.”Many of Herold’s classmates believed that she was one of the most dedicated members of the course. “In terms of work ethic, she never once complains about spending long hours in the lab, the million other things she needs to be doing, or about how sorting the flies can become tedious at times, and she has more lines to take than anyone,” upper Elle MacAlpine said. “She's much more knowledgeable about the flies than us but she is so helpful at helping us understand all there is too know. She always has a smile on her face when she arrives in the lab and overall makes it a much better working environment.”Upper Lydia Stahr agreed. “She works very hard in class, and puts in a lot of hours in the laboratory to tend to her flies,” she said. “Emma always comes to class happy and smiling. Her positive attitude in combination with her work ethic is extremely motivating.”Overall, Herold will leave the Academy having left many positive marks on the Academy community. “Emma is kind and friendly, something that struck me the first time I met her. I really got to know her well this year especially, and I often turn to her for advice, help, or just whenever I want someone to talk to,” upper David Gindra said.Next year, Herold will seek to continue her passions at Brown University, furthering her depth of study in biology. “At college, I declared cognitive neuroscience because I enjoy computer science, neurobiology, and psychology, and that’s a really good intersection of my interests,” she said.