Dear users of WoP!
And welcome to the (1st of 5) SoMe anniversary post(s). For the first time ever, we have been looking through the site, to see who is still active from the time when World of Potter EU was launched. Doing so, we found 5 members of World of Potter EU, who are either still in the staff or have been. We are very grateful that these lovely people have decided to speak to us, and tell us about their experiences.
The entire SoMe team have been very excited to do this, and to see what kind of people started this entire thing. These people all helped translate the site from its original language (Danish), to English. For this, they definitely deserve a pat on the shoulder, because without them WoP EU and many other WoP's would never have been an option!
The SoMe team would like to welcome: Verita Meracugenus, William Arkwright, Valérie Brière, Thomas Wilder and Althea Cahalan 5 people who are still here, who helped open the site and who have done an insane amount to help make this site what it is! So without futher ado, here's some of the things they were asked, by the SoMe team!

Valérie Brière - Interviewed by Isaac Holland.

What made you get involved with WoP initially, and what keeps you here?
That is actually a very good question. It actually all started with me joining back to the site that was before World of Potter called Potterskolen (made in the mid 00s), which was a Danish website meaning the Potter School. As I joined back I was only a month and a half away from the release of the first World of Potter site, which was the Danish one. On that site people were asked to help with creating an international site of World of Potter, where I sent in an application on 10 pages (yes, 10) to apply to become a teacher in one of five choices I made. Apparently the application was good enough and I was the first to be hired and I got to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts for a bit and also became the first Head of House of Hufflepuff. At that time I was also still very much involved with the Danish site, so around 20 days after the launch of the international World of Potter (which wasn't EU just yet), then I was actually asked to move back to the DK site as the Divination professor. Back then I hadn't gotten so involved with EU as I have now, so I said yes and had to leave the job I had on EU then. Right now I see it as a mistake I made back then, but it gave Septime the possibility to become the wonderful professor we know him to be today. I held a little break from EU, but then returned and then wanted to try out to become a journalist on this site. I had been a journalist on the DK site before I had gotten the teacher job, so I missed the job. Later on I stopped on the DK site and focused my time on the EU site, because I had quite a lot of friends on here. Some of the most amazing people to be honest. Also being able to get the job of my dreams on this site really meant so much to me. The job, the people and the experiences are things that keeps me on this site forever and always.

You're so successful already on WoP, what else do you hope to achieve?
I wouldn't say I am super successful, but I guess I must be just a little bit, but to be honest, then I have gotten everything that I wanted. Perhaps a status would be something that would be preferable to get, but if not, then I will be content enough with that. I have lots of friends here and and that is all I need, though I would hate to lose my job as a chief editor, because I love it so much.

How are you so awesome, what's your secret to awesomeness?
What a peculiar question, but I wouldn't say I am so awesome as to need a question to why I am awesome, but thank you for that. I like to believe that the secret to being awesome is to be on World of Potter and really love what it is you are doing. Really try to interact with people and then you might be what is considered awesome... or else it might just be because I have High School Musical music on my profile? That could be it! Yes, locking it that! That is my final answer! Did I win?

Stay tuned for a little later, when William Arkwright will be in the hothothot seat!