March 29, 2024

Tannochbrae

Built Business Tough

My leap from ice dancer to MBA student

When I was four, my dad and mom place me into hockey classes at our regional rink in New York and I just took to it. But it only lasted a couple of months, until eventually I noticed figure skaters on the ice and instructed my mother: “I want to do that.” The relaxation is very significantly heritage, I have been skating at any time considering that.

After college, I was faced with the selection that I both cease figure skating and go into a far more corporate career or continue and execute about the planet. I made a decision to tour the planet. For about 12 yrs, I travelled and carried out in different metropolitan areas in Europe and the US and on intercontinental waters on cruise ships.

Then, in 2018, I established a general performance company and place with each other my to start with display from scratch with 25 of my qualified figure skating colleagues. We carried out it in Connecticut and it was a huge results. That is when I commenced contemplating about going to business enterprise school. My undergraduate diploma was in graphic design and style, I experienced a extended heritage in the artistic industries and I desired something a small far more tangible to shift me ahead in my qualified profession.

I desired it to be in Europe, due to the fact I experienced used so significantly time there around the yrs and felt extremely at ease. I utilized to educational facilities in Berlin, Amsterdam and to Imperial College Company University in London, which was the greatest, and I was happily stunned when I obtained in.

The course was an intense one particular-calendar year MBA. There ended up a handful of British college students and a good deal of People in america, Chinese, Indians and south People in america — it was truly intercontinental.

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We obtained to do about 6 months in particular person ahead of the pandemic strike and we switched to distant finding out. It was rough — executing an MBA is all about networking and connecting with your peers and professors. But, once the lockdowns strike, numerous college students went back again residence. We built the most of it, however, and supported just about every other.

My favorite programs ended up design and style contemplating and accounting, which is variety of amusing. I was superior at maths developing up but experienced not completed significantly professionally, and I was obtaining the accounting class truly hard. But, at the conclusion, it clicked it was beautiful, pretty much, how every little thing included up. The artist in me liked when every little thing matched. The design and style contemplating professor encouraged us to be artistic, making it a truly exciting class. It taught me that, in business enterprise, creativeness is extremely essential.

The Achieving Out fellowship for associates of the LGBTQ community also assisted make a huge affect on my time at business enterprise school. I imagined that I would go into a class of a good deal of straight white adult men, due to the fact that’s the stereotype. I was happily stunned that it was not like that. It was a extremely diverse group, and it was good going into a community of LGBTQ+ candidates.

We did an entrepreneurship module as section of the MBA as well, and I made a company with one particular of my classmates termed the Ice Theatre of London. Due to the fact I graduated previous summer, I’ve remained in cost of that business enterprise but I have a staff of ice skaters who are assisting me operate the company as I no more time reside in London. I finished up back again in New York accidentally — I was going for a two-7 days vacation but then England went into lockdown and I stayed where the ice rinks ended up open and I could educate skating.

The MBA gave me the confidence to operate companies and action into managerial positions. I am about to be part of a state club in New Jersey as their artistic director, where I will be generating, directing, choreographing and managing all of their performances.

I remain in contact with numerous of my classmates — we have a WhatsApp chat that we add to. It’s enjoyment to hear what they are executing due to the fact all of our lives finished up going in different instructions than we imagined, due to the fact of the pandemic. We have experienced to pivot.

What’s next? I truly hope that the Ice Theatre of London will just take hold and garner a even bigger viewers in the Uk — that’s one particular of my targets. Other than that, I’m seeking ahead to living my life. I just obtained married. I think the pandemic has compelled us not to approach far too significantly in advance, and so we are living in the second — we will see what comes about.