Name: Kim Hew-Low
Hometown: Sydney, Australia
Graduation Year: 2017
Major: English and Political Science
Fun Fact: My parents actually met in Malaysia in high school and followed each other to Australia to pursue their education. Also, I currently skate for the Australian National Team.
Her Campus: When did you start figure skating?
Kim Hew-Low: So I started figure skating late by conventional standards, I was 14. I had done ballet and gymnastics pretty intensely my whole life and eventually I kind of got over it a bit. Around that same time I changed high schools and there was a rink next to my school, so I guess the combination of those two factors led me to walking into a rink one day.
HC: What is your current skating status?
KH-L: I do not have a partner at the moment, which is actually really common among female ice dancers. My last partnership ended in October and I’ve been kind of just training by myself. I am expecting if partner ships break-up and move around it’ll be around February so I am kind of laying low till then, taking this season off to keep working on my skills.
HC: Give us the deets, have you ever dated a partner?
KH-L: No! I could literally be skating with the Chris Hemsworth of skating and I just think as soon as we decided on being a partnership, he would just like be a plant to me.
HC: What do you want your future to be like for ice skating?
KH-L: I think as much as everyone focuses on the big competitions, at the same time I want my future of ice dancing to be happy. I want to be skating for as long as I can, given that I’m happy doing what I’m doing.
HC: So are the Olympics a possibility?
KH-L: It’s definitely in my mind, and it’s hard not to think about it when you’re in a training center full of people who have been to the Olympics and been really successful. But having said that, the Olympics requires both partners to have citizenship from that country and time is kind of running out, but I definitely haven’t ruled out 2022.
HC: Okay so how do you balance skating and school?
KH-L: I’ll wake up at like 4:30 A.M. and get to the rink half asleep and train for a couple hours on-ice. On some days I’ll have ballet or ballroom, we also have a mime coach. Three times a week I work out with my personal trainer and then I’ll come back to school. Some days start at 1 P.M., some days it’ll be a bit later. It’s difficult, but my parents always encouraged me to do a lot of co-curricular activities so I’ve always had that sense of time management.
HC: Speaking of school, how did you wind up at Michigan?
KH-L: I applied to colleges based on where there were good training centers for skating. What a lot of people don’t know is that within Michigan, there are three rinks that consistently produce a healthy amount of the world skaters.
HC: So what is your favorite thing to do in your limited down time?
KH-L: Number one on my list is definitely sleeping. I try to go to bed at 9 P.M. but it never really happens. I also really like cooking, like I’ll procrasticook to no end.