Hi! My name is Sierra McCloud and I am a junior at Princeton University in the Molecular Biology Department. Oh, and I’m pre-med, how could I forget haha. I am so excited to be able to share with all of you my life as a figure skater, the sport that I really love! I began skating at nine years old. Now most people would say that is starting pretty late, however, many professional skaters began at the ages of 8 and even 12, like Johnny Weir. Michele Kwan began at 4, which may explain why she is an ice skating legend. I am not going to lie, I had aspired to be a gymnast before skating came to mind, but my parents feared I would break every bone in body from the dangerous stunts gymnasts are required to perform. Since my cousin was a pro-bound skater, I decided to follow in her footsteps and my parents supported by decision. The very moment I stepped on ice, it was as if I was born to do it. I picked up skills extremely quickly and when enrolled in lessons, I skipped several levels! I certainly had fallen in love with skating and I have been doing it ever since.
As my skating career progressed through middle school and high school, I participated in several shows and competitions. Yes, I was a competitive skater, even Olympic-bound. I practiced at all times of day and had up to 5 different coaches: one for spins, one for jumps, one for edge work, one for choreography, and one as my general/all-around coach. As you can see, skating is not cheap! It is an expensive sport, but all worth it. By the time I was a junior in high school, I suffered from a terrible injury to my tail bone. At that point I thought my skating career was over and that I would never skate again. It really crushed me but I still had hope. Upon acceptance into Princeton, I decided to put aside the skates and pick up my Princeton sweater and continue my education at a fine institution. Little did I know that Princeton had an ice rink, let alone a skating team. Astounded, I called my mom to ship my skates and it was like I had fallen in love with skating all over again. As member of the Princeton University Synchronized skating team, I am proud to say that I am skater, all the good and bad included. Skating is a huge part of my life and I can’t wait to share more of it with you in the upcoming weeks.