- Emily DeMaio
- Senior, The Marist School
Emily DeMaio leads many parts of the Marist School community.
She captains the varsity girls’ basketball team and has been the defensive captain since her sophomore year. Emily received the Lady War Eagle Award this year, which is given to one member of each team each year.
“I really like the team aspect,” Emily said. “We all have to come together and support each other in order to win.”
On the track, the 18-year-old holds the girls’ shot put record of 33 feet and 6 inches. Emily also participates in the discus event. Her goal is to make it to the state competitions this year.
Emily also serves as co-president of The Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Marist.
“Since I’m such a sports-oriented person, mixing in the faith aspect is really cool,” Emily said.
Emily helps to organize the bi-monthly breakfast meetings, as well as to select the speakers. In the program, she enjoys meeting new people and learning about their individual experiences.
During Emily’s junior year, she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee, so she had to have surgery. Her goal was to return to the court by her senior year. She did.
“Therapy was very challenging,” she said. “It really taught me to work hard and never take anything for granted. I always tell my team to play like it’s their last game.”
Derrick Engram has been Emily’s AAU basketball coach for five years. He describes her as a positive leader with determination, dedication to her game and style of play, and a team player.
Emily has found another way to inspire her peers. When she was younger, her grandfather would say a quote he had heard, and Emily would always write it down. Now, Emily shares a motivating quote with her teammates before every game. She also posts them on their lockers on game days.
In school, Emily is a grade-level coordinator of the Peer Leader Program. She coordinates small gatherings between new students and their buddies. Emily helps younger peer leaders by giving them advice based on her past experiences in the program.
Emily also is secretary for the Habitat for Humanity chapter at Marist. The group raises money through a variety of fundraisers in order to aid the building of homes through the Habitat program.
“Her leadership skills are way beyond her age,” Engram said. “She can walk into a room or walk onto a team and automatically take the lead … effortlessly.”
What’s Next:
Emily is looking into a variety of colleges, and is currently undecided. She plans to major in either nursing or biochemistry. Emily has many nurses in her family, and after tearing her ACL, she aspires to be one also.