Emily Imo: She Bumps, Sets, and Spikes Her Way Through College

Waking up at 5 a.m., working out, conditioning, and heading to volleyball practice all before classes start is the typical morning routine for the upbeat and bubbly sophomore, Emily Imo. Her life isn’t like most college students, considering the majority of undergrads aren’t NCAA athletes like Imo, who plays on the Saint Louis University Women’s Volleyball team. She described her balancing act of school and sports as having its challenges, and with a laugh said,  “If I just plan everything out that I have to do and just manage my time correctly, it’s not that bad.” She’s thankful that SLU does a good job of providing student athletes with resources like tutoring and advising so that students like Imo can put their success in academics first.

While volleyball is one of her major passions now, there was a time when she wanted nothing to do with it. Both of her parents grew up playing the sport and Imo remembers being in second grade when her dad would take her outside to teach her how to bump, set, and spike. Her father became the major force for why she continued playing. Imo said, “Growing up, I didn’t want to play volleyball at all, honestly.” She said her dad made her play on club teams, go to tryouts, and give her protein shakes for breakfast to make sure she was strong enough to continue that athletic ability that he saw in her. Her hatred for the sport stemmed from it being so forced upon her, but she began realizing that her talent could be used and that it wasn’t as bad as she once thought. She now appreciates volleyball and considers it to be a wonderful sport that has given her lifelong friendships. She appreciates how it allows almost anyone to play and with a chuckle, she noted that “the major physical part comes from me hitting the ground.”

The hometown girl has been a native of St. Louis her whole life, and has a special connection to the city that most other people don’t. Her last name “Imo” rings loud in the ears of St. Louisans who immediately think of the iconic square sliced pizza from Imo’s Pizza. Imo’s grandparents opened the pizza shop in St. Louis in 1964 in the notoriously Italian neighborhood called The Hill. While one may think that Imo’s strong connection to one of the most popular pizza chains in St. Louis would bring her popularity and of course, a ton of free slices, she wasn’t always fond of growing up under a label. She said, “It was kind of difficult as a kid because everyone makes fun of you, so I would get jokes about it and people would constantly ask ‘Can I get a free pizza?’” Imo said that after hearing it for so long, she began to just brush it off, although she still hears the same jokes and remarks of being the “pizza girl” to this day. She described how blessed she is, however, to come from the Imos family and is grateful to be connected to a group of people and a company does so much charitable work. She was proud to talk about Imo’s Pizza, and how it has taught her to “always remember to give back to the place you came from and the place that helped you grow.”