A Lesson Learned From Michelle Kwan

This International Women’s Day, I want to celebrate my childhood hero, Michelle Kwan. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak several years ago, and her message will forever stay with me.

Figure skating was my favorite sport to watch as a child. It brought the family together around the television as we rooted for our favorite skaters. Michelle Kwan was my favorite; I admired her not only because she represented Asian Americans in the public eye but also for her drive and tenacity.

Michelle wasn’t always at the top. When she first came onto the scene, she was young and still had a lot of room to grow. It wasn’t until 1996 that the world saw Michelle reach her full potential. That season, we witnessed her transformation on the ice. She had developed a new level of maturity in her routine and an undeniable fierceness in her jumps. As a result, Michelle won her first US National and World Championships that year. Then, she went on to win eight more National Championships and four more World Championships—making her the most decorated US skater in figure skating history.

Meeting Michelle Kwan

In 2015, while I was a board member of OCA-St. Louis, I had the unique opportunity to meet my childhood hero at an event we co-hosted with Washington University. Michelle was the guest speaker and she shared her skating and post-career experiences. She also spoke candidly about her successes and failures.

“The first thing I learned in skating was to learn how to fall.”

 

-Michelle Kwan

For me, that was the most powerful message she shared that evening. I wrote it down and have never forgotten it. Most of us have fallen at some point in our personal or professional life. Being able to learn and grow from our mistakes is just as important as getting back up. We might fall a few more times before we figure it out, but the hope is that we can improve each time. Persistence and resilience build the heart of a champion.

Learning From My Personal Failures

When I met Michelle, I was struggling to transition into the career I wanted in marketing. Even though I was a double-major in MIS and marketing, I was rejected for entry-level marketing roles because I didn’t have any marketing experience or internships to tout. At one point, I questioned whether I should just stay in IT. In the end, I turned those rejections into a learning opportunity of how to become a better candidate and acquired the hands-on experience I needed through volunteering. Starting over to pursue a new career path was a challenging but humbling experience.

A Little Inspiration

I had never gone ice skating before that event and never thought I would want to try. A few days after the event, my husband (then-boyfriend) convinced me to go ice skating to celebrate my encounter with a World Champion figure skater. I fell countless times that evening, but his encouragement and the inspiration from meeting Michelle kept me going. While I hesitate to call it “skating,” I was able to make it around the rink unassisted by the end of the night.

Maybe a World Championship isn’t in my future, but I’ll take every lesson learned as a win.

More on the Blog