Hewitt senior Gillian Presto ’14 has been balancing ice-skating and school, among her other commitments, for years now. She is a very accomplished skater and a role model for the Hewitt community. I got the chance to ask her about her talent:
Hewitt Times: When did you first start ice-skating?
Gillian Presto: I first started skating when I was about eight years old but started getting serious about it a couple years later.
HT: How often do you practice?
GP: I used to practice about five to six times a week, but now I skate about three to four times a week because of how stressful school can be and how much work I have during senior year.
HT: How often do you compete?
GP: My skating season runs from about March to September/October. I compete about once or twice a month.
HT: How do you manage to dedicate your time equally to both school and ice-skating?
GP: I skate in the mornings before school and then have time to do my work after school or after my activities after school. It definitely is pretty difficult trying to balance both my school and skating because sometimes it’s really hard to wake up in the morning because of lack of sleep from the night before because of all my work. However, I think skating has really helped me with time management, so as the years have gone by, I’ve been able to balance the two main elements in my life well.
HT: Who or what has inspired you to keep skating?
GP: Growing up, I always loved watching figure skating on TV. I would point to the screen and tell my mom how I wanted that to be me. I always thought it was so incredible what those people could do on such thin blades and wanted to be one of them. As I’ve been skating, my coaches and family have always supported me in my decisions, and my love for the sport is what keeps me skating.
HT: What is your favorite experience as an ice-skater?
GP: One of my favorite experiences as an ice-skater was in September. I qualified to go to Nationals for Solo Ice Dance, which is a new discipline within skating. It wasn’t the fact I qualified, but the fact that it was in Colorado Springs, an ice dancing Mecca. It was the first competition I had ever needed to go on an airplane for, and it’s exciting knowing that you were one of the few people selected from your level in the country to go.
HT: What advice do you have for aspiring ice-skaters?
GP: My advice is that you have to be dedicated in order to succeed. If you want to be accomplished in the sport, you have to be willing to sacrifice a lot. Your accomplishments are results of your blood, sweat, and tears.