My leap from ice dancer to MBA student

When I was 4, my mother and father set me into hockey classes at our neighborhood rink in New York and I just took to it. But it only lasted a few of months, right until I observed figure skaters on the ice and informed my mom: “I want to do that.” The rest is rather a great deal background, I have been skating at any time considering the fact that.

Just after university, I was confronted with the selection that I either cease figure skating and go into a additional corporate career or continue on and perform about the entire world. I decided to tour the entire world. For about twelve years, I travelled and carried out in unique towns in Europe and the US and on worldwide waters on cruise ships.

Then, in 2018, I launched a functionality organization and set jointly my first demonstrate from scratch with twenty five of my specialist figure skating colleagues. We carried out it in Connecticut and it was a big results. That is when I started out considering about likely to enterprise school. My undergraduate degree was in graphic design, I experienced a very long background in the artistic industries and I preferred anything a tiny additional tangible to move me forward in my specialist profession.

I preferred it to be in Europe, mainly because I experienced used so a great deal time there above the years and felt really comfortable. I applied to educational institutions in Berlin, Amsterdam and to Imperial Faculty Organization School in London, which was the very best, and I was fortunately stunned when I got in.

The system was an intensive a single-yr MBA. There had been a handful of British pupils and a good deal of People, Chinese, Indians and south People — it was actually worldwide.

We got to do about six months in individual ahead of the pandemic strike and we switched to remote understanding. It was challenging — undertaking an MBA is all about networking and connecting with your peers and professors. But, when the lockdowns strike, several pupils went back again house. We designed the most of it, nevertheless, and supported each other.

My favorite classes had been design considering and accounting, which is type of funny. I was great at maths growing up but experienced not carried out a great deal skillfully, and I was finding the accounting course actually difficult. But, at the stop, it clicked it was lovely, nearly, how every little thing included up. The artist in me liked when every little thing matched. The design considering professor encouraged us to be artistic, earning it a actually exciting course. It taught me that, in enterprise, creativeness is really essential.

I considered that I would go into a course of a good deal of straight white adult men, mainly because that’s the stereotype. I was fortunately stunned that it was not like that

The Achieving Out fellowship for customers of the LGBTQ community also helped make a big effect on my time at enterprise school. I considered that I would go into a course of a good deal of straight white adult men, mainly because that’s the stereotype. I was fortunately stunned that it was not like that. It was a really numerous group, and it was great likely into a community of LGBTQ+ candidates.

We did an entrepreneurship module as portion of the MBA as perfectly, and I designed a organization with a single of my classmates identified as the Ice Theatre of London. Given that I graduated final summer, I’ve remained in demand of that enterprise but I have a group of ice skaters who are aiding me run the organization as I no longer are living in London. I ended up back again in New York unintentionally — I was likely for a two-7 days vacation but then England went into lockdown and I stayed where the ice rinks had been open and I could train skating.

The MBA gave me the assurance to run businesses and move into managerial positions. I am about to join a region club in New Jersey as their artistic director, where I will be developing, directing, choreographing and running all of their performances.

I keep in contact with several of my classmates — we have a WhatsApp chat that we contribute to. It is fun to listen to what they are undertaking mainly because all of our life ended up likely in unique directions than we considered, mainly because of the pandemic. We have experienced to pivot.

What’s upcoming? I actually hope that the Ice Theatre of London will consider maintain and garner a more substantial viewers in the British isles — that’s a single of my plans. Other than that, I’m on the lookout forward to dwelling my everyday living. I just got married. I think the pandemic has pressured us not to system far too much in progress, and so we are dwelling in the moment — we will see what transpires.