WHERE ARE THEY NOW?


part of Hughes’ life. She trains when she can and performs in at least two or three shows a year. She co-hosted Evening with Champions with 1992 Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie last year. Tis summer she’ll perform at Skate for Hope in Ohio for the ninth time. “It’s nice to have a show to


Even though she had a semester left, Emily Hughes was able to walk at spring 2011 graduation with her class. There for her special day were (l-r) Hughes’ longtime coach Bonni Retzkin, sisters Taylor and Sarah, mother Amy, Emily, father John and brothers Matthew and David.


a New York Rangers hockey game. “It was an Olympic-type pro-


gram,” she recalled. “I pretended I was a skier; I held the flag and then at the end I was a skater. At one point, I was also a hockey player. I had a stick and a puck. I shot the puck and then was going on my way. I was doing crossovers and all of a sudden everyone was cheering so loudly. I’m thinking, ‘I’m doing crossovers, what’s going on?’ I look back and the puck actually went into the net. So I made a goal in my pro- gram. It was just so much fun.” Tat year in Hughes’ life was


chronicled in the book I Am a Skat- er, part of Random House’s Young Dreamers series, which in addition to Hughes featured books about a young ballerina, an equestrian and a gymnast. Photographer Jane Feld- man followed her around and pho- tographed her in different venues. “Tat was an amazing experi-


ence,” Hughes said. “Tat book is something I can have forever.” Hughes loved competing but


didn’t necessarily have great results early on. She didn’t qualify for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 2004, but the disappointment only made her work harder. Te following year, 2005, which was her senior debut, proved to be a turning point. She finished in the top six and received a standing ovation. She subsequently competed at the World Junior Championships, winning a bronze medal.


“I loved competing. Tat’s why


I kept going,” Hughes said. “I loved the rush it gave you. You had such a mix of nervousness, but also excite- ment and anticipation. You go out there and do your program and it’s the moment where you realize all of the hard work that you put in be- forehand is paying off at that time.” Her hard work paid off even


more in 2006, when she finished third at the U.S. Championships and was named an Olympic alter- nate. When Michelle Kwan with- drew due to injury, Hughes headed to Torino, Italy, where she finished seventh with two strong programs. “I think the most memorable


part would be my first practice at the arena and skating over the Olym- pic rings and realizing I was at the Olympics,” she said. “Kind of look- ing up and taking this moment of ‘Wow, I can’t believe this is happen- ing right now.’ Ten coming back to reality and thinking, ‘All right, I’ve got to go practice.’” Being an Olympian is deeply


meaningful to Hughes and so are all the life lessons she gained from skat- ing. She learned how to work hard, work under pressure and perform. Tose things, she said, translated to her work at intensely competitive Harvard as well as in life in general. After a course in social entrepre-


neurship, Hughes realized she could combine her love of sports with her major. Her senior thesis focused on sports-based youth development


programs in Harlem. Tese included Figure Skating in Harlem as well as a baseball/softball organization and a street squash program. All the or- ganizations combined athletics with education and self- empowerment. Hughes had two Harvard grad- uations — one with her classmates in the spring of 2011 and again in December when she finished her coursework (she’d taken a semes- ter off to train for the 2010 U.S. Championships). She was the stu- dent speaker at the December com- mencement.


“I would say that I met the


most interesting people at Harvard. It really is about the people,” she noted. “I majored in what I was in- terested in and even though it wasn’t a business type of major, I’m doing business work now.” Hughes got a totally different


Olympic experience in 2012 when she went to the Summer Olympics in London to work on Deloitte’s internal web- site. She did interviews and wrote articles from a Deloitte perspec- tive (the company is a United States Olympic Committee sponsor). Other projects


have involved a media company, an insurance company and a custom- er experience project. Skating remains a


SKATING 9


prepare for,” she said. “Sometimes I have to go to the rink at 6 a.m., which is not my preference, but I do it (she lives near New York’s Sky Rink). My nieces skate (twins Alex and Natalie, 8, daughters of oldest sister Rebecca). Saturdays and Sun- days they sometimes go out to Long Island, where my parents live and skate at our local rink. So a lot of the time I’ll just go out with them.” It gives Hughes a chance to connect with her longtime coach Bonni Retzkin, who remains a life- long friend. Retzkin occasionally coaches Alex and Natalie, but she and their other coach, Jonathon Hunt, were both away when they were scheduled to compete at Woll- man Rink, so Emily and Sarah put them on the ice. Although now all adults —


youngest sister Taylor graduates from Tulane University this spring — the siblings remain exceptionally close. It’s not only the children who love ice sports. Dad John still plays recreational hockey. Hughes said she’s not sure


what’s next for her. “I feel I’m learning so much


right now and whether I stay in con- sulting or not, I know that I’m go- ing to be using what I’m learning,” she said. Te way the program is structured, people typically head to graduate school after two or three years on the job. “Who knows what’s ahead for me.”


After finishing her coursework and thesis, Emily Hughes had a second graduation ceremony in December 2011, which she celebrated with her mom and dad, Amy and John.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60