My leap from ice dancer to MBA student

When I was four, my mothers and fathers put me into hockey classes at our local rink in New York and I just took to it. But it only lasted a pair of months, until finally I observed figure skaters on the ice and advised my mom: “I want to do that.” The relaxation is pretty significantly history, I have been skating at any time considering the fact that.

Right after college, I was confronted with the option that I either quit figure skating and go into a a lot more company work or continue on and accomplish around the planet. I decided to tour the planet. For about 12 decades, I travelled and done in various metropolitan areas in Europe and the US and on global waters on cruise ships.

Then, in 2018, I launched a overall performance company and put with each other my 1st show from scratch with 25 of my expert figure skating colleagues. We done it in Connecticut and it was a massive achievement. That is when I began considering about going to business enterprise university. My undergraduate degree was in graphic layout, I had a lengthy history in the innovative industries and I desired some thing a minimal a lot more tangible to shift me ahead in my expert occupation.

I desired it to be in Europe, simply because I had invested so significantly time there over the decades and felt very at ease. I applied to universities in Berlin, Amsterdam and to Imperial University Company School in London, which was the very best, and I was happily amazed when I got in.

The system was an intense a single-yr MBA. There were being a handful of British college students and a good deal of Individuals, Chinese, Indians and south Individuals — it was genuinely global.

We got to do about 6 months in man or woman prior to the pandemic strike and we switched to remote discovering. It was difficult — accomplishing an MBA is all about networking and connecting with your friends and professors. But, as soon as the lockdowns strike, numerous college students went back residence. We produced the most of it, though, and supported each and every other.

My favorite programs were being layout considering and accounting, which is variety of funny. I was great at maths rising up but had not finished significantly skillfully, and I was obtaining the accounting course genuinely hard. But, at the close, it clicked it was wonderful, virtually, how almost everything added up. The artist in me loved when almost everything matched. The layout considering professor inspired us to be innovative, building it a genuinely thrilling course. It taught me that, in business enterprise, creativity is very vital.

I thought that I would go into a course of a good deal of straight white gentlemen, simply because that’s the stereotype. I was happily amazed that it was not like that

The Achieving Out fellowship for users of the LGBTQ community also assisted make a massive affect on my time at business enterprise university. I thought that I would go into a course of a good deal of straight white gentlemen, simply because that’s the stereotype. I was happily amazed that it was not like that. It was a very numerous team, and it was wonderful going into a network of LGBTQ+ candidates.

We did an entrepreneurship module as aspect of the MBA as perfectly, and I established a company with a single of my classmates referred to as the Ice Theatre of London. Because I graduated past summer, I’ve remained in charge of that business enterprise but I have a group of ice skaters who are aiding me run the company as I no longer live in London. I ended up back in New York accidentally — I was going for a two-week family vacation but then England went into lockdown and I stayed the place the ice rinks were being open up and I could train skating.

The MBA gave me the assurance to run corporations and stage into managerial positions. I am about to join a place club in New Jersey as their creative director, the place I will be creating, directing, choreographing and handling all of their performances.

I continue to be in touch with numerous of my classmates — we have a WhatsApp chat that we lead to. It’s enjoyable to hear what they are accomplishing simply because all of our lives ended up going in various instructions than we thought, simply because of the pandemic. We have had to pivot.

What is next? I genuinely hope that the Ice Theatre of London will get hold and garner a even larger viewers in the British isles — that’s a single of my objectives. Other than that, I’m searching ahead to residing my everyday living. I just got married. I consider the pandemic has compelled us not to prepare far too significantly in progress, and so we are residing in the minute — we will see what transpires.