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Emily Watson Interview
Anna S: Ok so can you tell me a little bit about what you did at school? Your hometown, your
majors, your minors?
Emily Watson: I am originally from Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, that’s my hometown. I was an
Elementary Education major with a Spanish for the El Ed classroom minor. I was involved in oh
man this is gonna take me back here. My freshman year I did the Freshman Leadership
Scholarship Program, I did a lot with Lambda Epsilon Delta, the Education Honorary. I mostly
did Education stuff. I did my student teaching in Mexico, a part of it in Mexico City. I also did a
semester abroad in Australia, so I did some travel abroad. And with the student leadership groups
I did some spring breaks abroad too.
AS: Awesome! You were crowned in 2006, correct?
EW: I sure was! Rocktoberfest.
AS: I just wanted to make sure I had the timeline correct.
EW: Yes, graduated in ’07 but queen in ’06.
AS: Ok great! So, what did homecoming queen mean to you then?
EW: Then? For me it was… Especially because my family has a pretty rich history with Slippery
Rock, I am the fifth generation of my family to either attend or be affiliated with the university.
For me, just attending Slippery Rock meant a lot, both for myself and my family was really
important, so just attending was a big goal of mine. To be crowned homecoming queen during
my senior year at Slippery Rock just meant a lot for me to feel like I was representing my
university well, also representing my family well, and at that time, because I was running as an
Elementary Education major, I wanted to represent future teachers well. So, I think it was
important for me to be someone who has good character, good integrity, and it was important for
me to still have that position and be who I am. That was important to me.
AS: Great! What does being homecoming queen mean to you now?
EW: To me, it now means some excellent memories that I made with my friends during the
process of becoming homecoming queen. I look back it incredibly fondly. It’s a fun fact about
myself, I don’t always share it very readily; but to me, I always look back on becoming
homecoming queen as one of the most fun weeks of college that I had. My friends and I
campaigned to help me and it is just warm happy memories of really a culminating event during
my time at Slippery Rock.
AS: Awesome. How did you end up running? Were you nominated or did you run by yourself?
EW: I was representing, I’m pretty sure it was Lambda Epsilon Delta, I think I was running
through the education honorary. But I remember writing an essay about what it would mean to

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be homecoming queen or why I think I should be homecoming queen. I’m sure if I spent the time
I could probably find that essay, but it would probably be similar to the answer I gave you before
which running for homecoming queen was just a lot about representing myself well, representing
my family well, and representing my university well.
AS: Yeah definitely. Did you run with a partner?
EW: I did not, no.
AS: Awesome, I like that. You said that you campaigned. How did you campaign, what did you
do?
EW: As I said I remember the week fondly; it was a blast! I did like a little slogan for myself
which was, because my first name’s Emily, “Em’s a Jem”. We spray-painted Burger King
crowns, because Burger King was still around at that moment. We spray-painted Burger King
crowns and put like bedazzled jewels all over them and wore them all around campus. We
handed out ringpops and all sorts of candy that looked like jewels or jems or things like that. I
actually did a fun event at Ginger Hill Tavern the night before, which I think was Thursday night
that week. They did a drink special for me, which probably might not wanna include that one,
but it was a lot of fun. It got a bunch of people out at Ginger Hill. So it was Thursday night, and
then the pep rally was Friday and it was so fun. But I definitely remember doing stuff outside of
Baily library and outside in the quad and everything like that; as far as campaigning and handing
stuff out goes. And then off-campus we did a fun night at Ginger Hill Tavern.
AS: Awesome. Did social media come into play at all?
EW: Oh, no it didn’t. We were lame back then. I don’t even think I had Facebook, because it was
just coming out. We had to do it the old school way, we made flyers and had to get the word out
by actually getting the word out.
AS: No, definitely. Before the election, what did you think your chances were of winning?
EW: I thought they were pretty equal to everyone else’s. I didn’t feel like I had an advantage, as
far as that goes but I was hopeful that I would win. Mostly because I put a lot of hard work into
it, and I can’t take all the credit I had an amazing group of friends that were behind me on it and
we worked tireless all week in order to get my name out there; so that’s probably why I was most
hopeful to win, just because I had so many people who really believed in me and who were
working hard with me and alongside me. That’s why I was hopeful that I would win, just
because I didn’t want all that hard work to be for… I don’t wanna say nothing…but they really
were there with me throughout the whole week.
AS: No, definitely. Was there any stigma around the ceremony or your campaigning or
anything?
EW: What do you mean by stigma?

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AS: Just negative attitudes, people tearing anything down?
EW: I don’t think so. Maybe because I was in the little bubble of winning and I was so excited, I
don’t really remember any negativity around it. Our campaign, the one that I ran, everything was
positive. I was definitely not bringing other people down, I wasn’t saying negative things about
other people, I was just trying to say positive things about myself. Maybe because I tend to be a
pretty positive person, maybe that’s why I don’t remember anything negative, if it was
happening, I wasn’t aware of it.
AS: Ok, that’s good. What did your family think of your victory?
EW: Oh my gosh, they were so excited, they were excited! Especially because I am from
Slippery Rock so they all got to, like my mom and dad were there. My dad, is Dr. Watson, and
he was so excited. And he got to drive me in the homecoming parade which was super fun. Cool
dad moment, and a cool family moment for us. So that was really nice. My sisters came into
town from their colleges and supported me through that. And even my boyfriend at the time, who
is now my husband, flew into town and surprised me after the pep rally. It was a time when our
family all came together, which is why, again, I had such fond memories of it.
AS: Awesome. What was the hardest part about the whole process?
EW: Probably all the work I put into it and the work that my friends put into it. I think all the
preparation. I honestly think that could be why I ending up winning. We worked, I think that
year we worked harder than anybody else. I think everyone else, if they were Greek or whatever
they just assumed that everybody Greek would vote for them or whatever. And because I was
kind of not really affiliated with any certain group and I knew a lot of groups of people, because
I was friends with people on UPB or SGA or whatever, because I just kind of knew a lot of
people, I think that made me work that much harder to earn all of those votes. And I didn’t really
rest on my laurels of like “yay, I’m nominated that’s kind of cool”, but I really wanted to win
and that to me was the hardest part I put into it. All the effort in trying to gain people’s votes.
AS: Awesome. How did your college experience change from before and then after you were
elected?
EW: I don’t know if it really changed that much because I really was having a fantastic time at
Slippery Rock in the three years leading up to my senior year. It was a great culmination to a
fantastic experience I had at Slippery Rock. But again, I tend to be a pretty positive person and a
pretty outgoing person and so I think part of what made a great experience at Slippery Rock was
myself making sure it was a good experience. I kind of went above and beyond to get as much
out of my four years at Slippery Rock as I could and being homecoming queen was part of that
going the extra mile for me. So, I did a lot of hard work at Slippery Rock but I also did a lot of
fun at Slippery Rock and I think that was a good balance. I don’t know if it really drastically
changed anything. I was having a great time before and I continued having a great time after. But
for me it was a great way to bring my friends together and my family together. That was pretty
much it.

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AS: Did it affect you after college?
EW: Again, kind of a cool fact about myself. I think I put it on my resume. So, it was a bit of a
conversation starter in some of my post-college interviews. They would say like “Oh,
homecoming queen”. It was sort of a jumping off point for conversations. Now, eleven years
later, it doesn’t come up in conversation as much, except when homecoming comes around every
year I make it a point to reach out to all my friends that were there with me that week and we
have good memories about it. Of course, you know, my boyfriend at the time, now my husband,
we talk about that weekend very fondly. It doesn’t come up as much in conversation but it was a
conversation starter right after college in some of my interviews for teaching.
AS: Yeah definitely. Has your life changed in any small or large way?
EW: Because of being homecoming queen or just in general?
AS: Yes, because of becoming homecoming queen.
EW: I don’t know. Maybe in small ways. I think it’s cool that it puts me in a group of people that
is the homecoming queen group of people, I think that’s pretty neat to be a part of something like
that. But, I don’t know if it really changed it too much. I’d like to think in positive ways it
probably did because I took the role pretty seriously, as far as making sure I was a good example
to other students on campus; that’s why I felt pretty passionate about wanting to hold the position
because I thought I was a good representative of the student body at the time. I worked very hard
academically speaking and I also worked very hard to have a good time. So, I thought I was
representative. But I don’t know about changing in big or little ways. Maybe I just needed to be
more aware of that. I guess I haven’t drawn much attention to it.
AS: No, definitely. Have you come back for later homecomings?
EW: I have! I have either been back for one or two of them. It’s difficult for me because, of
course after I graduated I got a teaching job, my first job I taught 5th grade in Arlington, Virginia,
which is in the D.C. area. I came back the following year because it worked out with my
teaching schedule but then it’s been a little more difficult because we moved farther away. My
husband is in the army and he flies helicopters and there’s only so many places where he can fly
the helicopters. We’ve lived in North Carolina, Alabama, Kansas, and now we’re in Tennessee
and so it makes it difficult. Now we also have two children, and coming back for that weekend
does pose to be an issue. Two small kids on a plane is not the most fun place to be. Before
having children, it was much easier, but since we’ve moved farther away and we’ve expanded
our family it doesn’t get to be any easier. But my family, my parents still live in Slippery Rock. I
still stay connect to the events that are going on through them.
AS: Awesome. You did say that you came back the year after. What was it like crowning the
next queen?
EW: I don’t think I was there for the pep rally, I think I was there for the parade. So, I did not
crown the next queen. But it was kind of bittersweet because it was that feeling of “oh, I’m really

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not in college anymore”. But it was kind of cool because at the same time, since you’re only one
year out it was that feeling of I’m not in college anymore, I’m working, I’m a professional now,
and coming back, having a job and everything like that. I was doing exactly what I wanted to do
a year after college and I was proud of myself for setting that goal and achieving it. But it’s also
that moment that you knew what you were doing a year ago. Everyone was going out and
celebrating and you weren’t a part of that anymore. In some ways, it was like oh I miss that, and
in some ways, it was like you know that was in that time of my life and I’m really glad I
experienced it to the fullest while I was there but it’s just not a part of my life anymore.
AS: No, definitely. Thank you so much for being able to do this interview.