We all know the name Janice Lin. We all know the voice. And we all have so many questions. Who is this person that graces our ears every morning? How did this junior become the most popular person at EHS? What do her teachers think about her morning announcements? We’ve got all the answers.
(Disclaimer: these responses are meant to be taken lightly.)
How did you get such a prestigious position?
“One day I was at an 8 AM meeting with the G.O. club, and Mr. Hosier asked if anyone wanted to do the pledge. I volunteered. End of story. Now, I am stuck with this fantastic job of being late to first period every day.”
Are you sick and tired of people asking you how you got the job?
“It gets really repetitive. I find myself repeating this story over and over again. And I get really defensive when people ask why I do it, because it's almost as if they are questioning my authority on the subject and as if they believe that I don’t deserve the job.”
What do you get from this job?
“Candy. From an undisclosed location in the main office.”
How long will you be our school’s morning announcement person?
“To be decided…”
Are you aware of the influence you have over the whole school?
“I am extremely aware. The power I hold is immense. The people that hear me bow to my will. They say they love me. I am the speaker of this house and the mascot of this school. The Panther should be replaced with The Janice.”
How long will it be until they replace the Edgemont Panther with the Edgemont Janice?
Hopefully soon, if they are smart about decisions having to do with school spirit. Their choices must be quick. Actions must be taken immediately. It will raise the Edgemont-ian school spirit if they change it to something more personal, something they relate to, and something they are constantly reminded of.
Have you ever been recognized by someone you didn't know, like a true celebrity?
“Multiple times people will say ‘Hi Janice,’ and I will look around and not see anyone that I know. They will be waving or looking at me. I don’t know how they know me.
When asked for my name for certain things and after I tell them, they say: ‘Oh! You are the one that does the morning announcements every day. I know the name and the voice but I never had a face to put to it!’ Someone asked me yesterday if I was the Janice that did the morning announcements. To that I said, ‘Do you know any other Janice Lin?’”
Passerby: “Hey Janice, I’m your biggest fan!”
Janice: “I have never met this kid before in my life.”
Has anyone asked for your autograph?
“No.”
Passerby: “Can I have your autograph?”
Janice: [No comment]
Are you ok? You sound a little sad sometimes.
“As a junior, everything in my life is depressing. The schoolwork? Depressing. The amount of sleep I get? Depressing. So I’m sorry if my announcements are a little depressing.”
Do you have any last words to say?
“Should I start a meditation app?”
Janice is dearly loved by all her current and past teachers, by all her friends, and by all the strangers who only know her through the morning announcements.
Ms. Condos:
“When Janice started the pledge, we all said, ‘Whose voice is that?’ I recognized it right away. As soon as I heard the first couple of words I thought immediately, ‘It's Janice Lin!’
Also, after several weeks of doing the announcements, she cheered up! This morning she was particularly cheery. And I never thought I would hear a cheery Janice Lin. I went, ‘Woah! Is it a new person now?’”
Mr. Rosenberg
“Janice has taken the Pledge of Allegiance to an entirely different level. When Janice starts speaking, people listen. To this point, I think the Pledge of Allegiance has fallen out of favor in our culture, but Janice has reinvigorated it to be an important part of the Edgemont experience.”
Mr. Hansonbrook
“Janice’s energy and incredible level of excitement always riles up my first period class. If anything could wake up students more effectively, I would be hard pressed to figure that out.”
Mr. Scalley
“I think it would be good if you wound up doing the announcements for the World Cup and things like that. She brings palpable energy to the Pledge of Allegiance.”
Eighth-grader:
“I think the morning announcements are pretty cool. But today, it cut out. So that's not very good. The person doing the morning announcements is also pretty cool. And her name is Janice Lin. And Janice Lin is pretty cool.”
Sophomore:
“Every time I wake up in the morning, I look forward to Janice’s voice projected out of the loudspeakers. It really makes my day.”
Junior:
“She is incredible. I love her.”