On Thursday, I had the rare opportunity to meet with an outstanding Olympic athlete right inside the small town of Lima, Ohio. Michelle Kwan is not only a five-time World Champion figure skater and a two-time Olympic medalist—she is also a dedicated supporter of the Democratic Party, an accomplished diplomat, and a senior adviser for public diplomacy and public affairs. And on Thursday when the Clinton campaign opened their Lima office to a group of enthusiastic supporters, Michelle Kwan came to welcome them with words of inspiration and hope.
Missing the games she’d once participated in, Michelle spoke before the group of liberal Ohioans about her modest upbringing, lifetime of hard work, and her political stance. I stood in the first row wearing a goofy smile. I have to admit, it was a little hard to play it cool around such a tremendously talented woman—especially amidst a crowd of tightly packed people and a faulty AC unit. Even so, I got goosebumps when Michelle spoke about how she got her degree in political science and international studies after unofficially retiring from the Games. Besides the fact that she is a highly decorated figure skater and I’m a highly decorated nothing, Michelle and I aren’t that much different at all!
As a woman who has occasionally been told by older adults that I should’ve picked a different, more “stable” major, I felt obligated to ask Michelle what advice she has for ladies with a passion for politics or international studies.
“Follow your path. Discover and have the courage to explore. I think some people start their path by getting a Masters or a PhD and they get stuck. Don’t be afraid to change direction because not everything needs to be set in stone. Discover new things to add into what you’re interested in. Be creative in your discovery.”
For a young woman who is still very unsure of what her future holds, there’s a great deal of comfort in being told that it’s okay to explore different paths along your personal journey--especially when it comes from someone as successful as Michelle Kwan.
Michelle’s passion for figure skating and her country have translated perfectly into her work as a diplomat, adviser, and now as a surrogate for the Clinton campaign. Recognizing the dire need for a progressive, experienced candidate in the Oval Office, Michelle offered her support to the Clinton campaign before the campaign even officially started. When I asked Michelle when she decided to endorse Secretary Clinton, she told me, “In a way, by working for Secretary Clinton, there really was no official endorsement. I was with her before I was even officially on the campaign. I said, ‘I’m ready to help her with the campaign,’ and people said, ‘well, she hasn’t even announced it yet!’ Everybody that was in her office had just been waiting.”
Last year, Michelle moved to Brooklyn to help the Clinton campaign full-time. Now, Michelle travels across the country visiting towns just like Lima during the days leading up to the election. On the day of the office opening, Michelle informed us that there were just 89 days until the presidential election. 89. If you're reading this now, there's even less days than that.
Unlike counting down the days until Christmas, counting down the days until the presidential election is much less exciting when one remembers just how much is at stake. Michelle’s 89-day-reminder was a gentle nudge to the Democrats to get going in these days leading up to the election. Sign-up sheets circulated the office, encouraging supporters to phone bank, canvass, and organize on behalf of the Democratic Party and Secretary Clinton. Michelle’s encouragement might have done the trick, coaxing otherwise uninvolved supporters to get their feet wet in the pond of political activism.
Although Allen County voted Republican in the last presidential election, Michelle’s appearance last Thursday effectively brought local Democrats together for a common cause in an election that will be anxiously watching Ohio, a notorious swing state.
It was an absolute pleasure to meet Michelle, an iconic athlete and a fierce advocate for social justice. "From the ice rink to the political arena" (also the title of this article by Michelle herself)—Michelle Kwan is an inspiration to young women everywhere with the passion and drive to do whatever it is their heart tells them to do. Like Michelle told me during our interview, “Don’t be afraid to branch out.” We have the ability to do whatever it is we put our minds to.
