Emily Bisso was born into an Irish setter family. She grew up going to dog shows, showing in Juniors, and learning about the sport and dogs in general. Her weekends were spent at dog shows competing against what she calls a “fantastic” group of Juniors. She loved that at any given show there were at least twenty juniors that not only challenged her to be a better handler, but were fun to be around. Showing in Juniors not only taught her sportsmanship, but she learned the motto “It’s not that serious”. She discovered how to be serious about dogs, but not herself. If she lost in the ring, she learned that it was not the end of the world and to be supportive of the person that had won.

Taking the knowledge she learned in the ring, Emily is now a Juniors judge. She enjoys judging Juniors because it allows her to contribute her passion and knowledge for showing to current Juniors. Some advice Emily has for current Juniors: look calm, collected, and invisible. It may be the handler who is judged, but the handler is judged on how well he or she presents his or her dog. Therefore, a good Junior should never stand out, the dog should. Emily gets a read on each Junior as they enter the ring; she sees who is fidgeting, who is managing, who is struggling. Juniors should know to never give up because every Junior has a chance until the end. It disappoints Emily to see Juniors give up halfway through because for her, confidence is half the battle. She says no good judge is a fault-judger; juniors should be judged on attributes, what a Junior does well.

Not only does Emily work with youth in the show ring, but also in the classroom. She is a 7th grade humanities teacher at a New York City public school. Originally, Emily had planned on being a veterinarian and had even completed internships in a vet’s office. However, she ended up going to Washington and Lee University, a small liberal arts college in Virginia, on a scholarship. While at college, Emily realized she actually wanted to be a writer, but she also loved science. Her solution: double-majoring in Psychology and English. Despite enjoying her majors, Emily did not know what career suited such a combination of majors. Then she heard about a program called Teach For America, a non-profit organization that sends recent college graduates to inner-city or very rural public schools that are in desperate need for teachers. She knew the program was a fit. Emily was accepted into the program in 2006, and she headed to New York.

She chose this career path because she believes the educational achievement gap is a huge problem worldwide, but it can be fixed. Her job can be challenging, but it is made worthwhile when a student enters her seventh grade class with a 2nd grade reading-level and leaves with a reading-level that has advanced two years. Lessons she learned from showing dogs like sportsmanship and being tough, have in part prepared her for this job. It takes a really solid individual to handle a middle school classroom; one must be able to gauge a situation, think critically, and push the right buttons to make the students tick. Even though teaching is challenging, she loves working with these young people, and their hard-work reminds her that change is possible.

It is clear that for Emily, passing on wisdom to young people both in the show ring and in the classroom is her passion. For Emily, knowledge is never a one-way street. She is constantly learning new things, and if she can pass on some of what she knows to others and it helps them, then she will be delighted.