HIGH POINT, N.C., Jan. 28, 2015 – Behind the loops and axels, the famed figure skaters and the thousands of visitors that descended upon Greensboro, High Point University students were hard at work.
While the spotlight was on the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro Jan. 17-25, four HPU students scored professional development opportunities that the competition brought with it.
Briayna Cuffie, Mayeesa Mitchell, Maddie Romano and Casey Schoenholtz all worked in different aspects of the national championship. Romano served as a photographer who helped capture the athletes’ best moments. Her photos of pair skaters Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim were picked up by Getty Images.
“I never thought I’d be inches away from past, present and future Olympic athletes, photographing them on and off the ice,” Romano said. “This experience has been incredible and I’m so thankful to have this opportunity.”
Schoenholtz, who wants to work in sport event management, experienced the operational detail of a large-scale championship. Mitchell, a communication major, and Cuffie, an international relations major, worked with the press in media relations.
“In my journalism classes, my professors have talked about specialized journalism, and I’ve been able to see that first-hand at the figure skating championship,” Mitchell said. “I really enjoyed standing beside the journalists as they interviewed players, I saw how educated they were on the topic and the players history and really helped prove that we as journalists need to do our research before we go into our interviews.”
The event is one of several in the area where HPU students have found professional development opportunities. Others include the semi-annual High Point Market, the USA Gymnastics’ 2014 AT&T American Cup and the High Point Cycling Classic.