She is more than just your average college girl. Ali Reid balances a prominent figure skating career with becoming a journalist at Emerson College. How does she do it? I sat down with Ali to discuss her passion for figure skating, college, and potential Olympic dreams.
Name: Ali Reid
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Year of Graduation: 2018
Hometown: Medford, NJ
Three Words to Describe Yourself: Independent, Confident, Risk-taker
Nancy Kerrigan or Tonya Harding? Nancy Kerrigan! She’s a strong, level-headed woman and whether she is on the ice or off, she holds herself with grace and poise. Through all of the scandals and issues she has dealt with, Nancy doesn’t let it affect her. I have so much respect for that lady!
When did you start skating? What made you want to skate? My mother is the reason why I started figure skating at such a young age. I remember my first competition at just five years old. That was the moment I knew that I wanted to skate for the rest of my life.
Who are your skating role models? I have 3 role models: my mom, and my two current skating coaches – Karen Gooley and Gary Irving. I aspire to be like them when I am older. My mom has been my biggest supporter and has been there by my side through it all, some of the best and the worst moments. I don’t think my mom gets enough recognition for how much she has helped me define who I am as a person, and I believe that figure skating has been a vital part in helping me find my path. My coaches Karen and Gary have always believed in me and put up with me even during early practices when I didn’t want to be out on the ice. They have such a strong work ethic and are some of the most caring and loving people that I have had the good fortune to meet.
Are you training for any competitions currently? Do you compete solo or with a group? Currently, I am training with Team Excel out of Skating Club of Boston. We are a synchro team that competes at competitions around the country. In two weeks, we leave for Rhode Island to compete at Nationals, which will be our biggest and most difficult competition this season.
How do you balance skating and being a normal college girl? I still ask myself this question every day. It’s extremely difficult having to balance figure skating, hosting shows for Emerson, working at American Eagle, and living a normal every day life. I think the most important thing I’ve learned over the course of these last few months is that keeping myself organized and level headed is the key to success. I have days where I get really stressed out, but I’ve realized that I just need to step back and know that I can do it.
What made you want to attend Emerson? This is my favorite question to answer! I’ve known since freshman year of high school that I wanted to attend Emerson. It has everything that I could possibly ask for. I was looking for a school in the city, but that wasn’t overwhelming, and I believe Boston is a great transition city – or what I like to call a “small big city”. The day I came to tour the college I knew that was it. The people were so outgoing and everyone had a similar mindset. I believe Emerson students know exactly what they have come here for, and that’s something I feel pleasure being surrounded by. I still ask myself every day how I got so lucky to attend such an awesome school.
How do you hope to incorporate skating and journalism together? I want to someday be the next big news anchor of our time. I like to dream big! I see myself taking more of a route in entertainment news, but that doesn’t mean I won’t somehow incorporate figure skating into all of that. Worlds for figure skating will be happening in Boston 2016, so I think it would be awesome to get together a camera crew and be able to report on that. Tara Lipinski is a huge role model of mine, and it would be awesome to follow in her footsteps and become a skating commentator like herself someday.
Any Olympic dreams in the future? As awesome as that sounds, having dreams of going to the Olympics is too unreasonable for myself. These next four years here at Emerson are meant to improve my journalism skills and build connections for the real world. If there was an Olympics for news anchoring, then heck, call me the next Will Ferrell! (I could be a mix between Anchorman and Blades of Glory!)