Skate to a brighter future
Olympian Emily Hughes: ‘Skating taught me to look at the big picture, think on my feet’ BY MIMI MCKINNIS
As you begin your journey across the ice, you will quickly realize that you are learning so much more than how to skate. You will be infused with the joy of improving every time you try something new. Each time you fall, you will strengthen your confi dence to get back up and try again. While learning the importance of balance, discipline and tenacity, you will be reassured that even the greatest challenges can be overcome.
For Emily Hughes, lessons in skating became lessons in life.
“There are so many foundational skills that you develop on the ice that I still fi nd myself using every single day,” Hughes said. “It’s everything from persistence to rebounding from failure, working hard and working with people. There’s just so much to learn from skating.”
Hughes enjoyed an impressive fi gure skating career that included two U.S. medals and a spot on the 2006 Olympic team. She graduated from Harvard University in 2011 and, since stepping away from competitive skating, has enjoyed similar success in the business world. Post-graduation, she’s taken on roles for Deloitte Consulting and the International Olympic Committee, and enjoyed a two-year stint with Google on the Google Fiber team. Hughes currently serves as a senior advisor for California fi nancial start-up Nerd Wallet, and credits her on- ice lessons for the off -ice success.
“Of course there are the obvious lessons like getting up when you fall, carrying on when things aren’t going your way because the music is still playing, and things of that nature, but there are so many other
42 MAY 2017
things that I’m seeing now professionally — things I don’t think people expect to learn on the ice,” Hughes said. “Skating taught me how to communicate. When you’re skating, you’re trying to get a story across with each element, movement and gesture. Professionally, that all carries over. The way you present yourself gets your point across.”
“I also learned how to work with people and be on a team,” Hughes continued. “Skating is an individual sport, but there’s a team behind it — a support system. When I’m giving a presentation for work, I can work with my colleagues the way I worked with my coaches. We work together to put out the best product, even though I’m the one who’s presenting it. I approach those projects the way I approached my skating. I think all those skills translated to a school environment and professional environment.”
The more you skate, the more you realize you’re learning something bigger. The confi dence and joy gained on the ice today will become the greatness you achieve in the world tomorrow. These are more than lessons in skating; these are lessons in life. Learn to Skate USA makes these lessons accessible, easy and fun. For Hughes, fi rst steps on the ice led to an Ivy League education, professional success and beyond.
“Skating taught me to look at the big picture and think on my feet,” Hughes said. “I think too often in sports people get to a point and just move on. What people need to see is how the time you spent in those sports — that time spent on the ice — it translates to all aspects of life.”
What will skating teach you? Get started today at
LearnToSkateUSA.com.
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