On campus, freshman Soho Lee spreads school spirit when flying into the air with her Pep Squad stunt group. Outside of school, Lee reaches even greater heights spinning gracefully across the ice as an avid competitive figure skater.
Lee began skating when she was 6 years old and now competes professionally across the country with Team USA and at Great Park Ice with Team Raf. In 2023, she was named U.S. junior national champion, which has been her greatest achievement so far, according to Lee.
“It’s been amazing witnessing her growth in ice skating,” figure skating teammate Sonia Baram said. “She was such a funny little kid when I first met her. We were both so tiny, and we were just jumping doubles back then. But it was so nice to reconnect with her after a couple years and compete with her.”
With skating being an individual sport, Lee decided to try out for cheer her freshman to experience a team dynamic. Despite their apparent differences, cheerleading and figure skating both help to improve her overall athleticism, according to Lee.
“Skating requires a lot of flexibility for the artistry and spins and so does cheer for stunts, kicks or jumps,” Lee said. “I guess I have an advantage because I’ve been skating for so long, but I didn’t really need to practice those things. I did gymnastics when I was younger for skating, so I had a little bit of tumbling, which helped for cheer tryouts as well.”
However, she began to lose enjoyment in skating when her former rigorous schedule took a toll on her mental health, according to Lee. Now, she only takes four academic classes and practices cheer and skating for two hours each day.
“For skating, there was a time it became a lot like work instead of a sport that I enjoyed because I was homeschooled before for about a year, and mentally, I was so exhausted because I would go to the rink every day and train,” Lee said. “Then when there would be bad days, I would be like ‘Why am I doing this?’”
Now back in public school and managing her stress better, Lee finds that the shift in her schedule has allowed her to improve her skating abilities. With more than enough time to complete her homework, Lee said she can now balance school and her athletic passions successfully. Lee is currently preparing for a selection competition in Milwaukee for the 2024 international season, and she looks forward to cheering for varsity in the upcoming season.
“My favorite thing about Soho is how can set her mind on a goal, and she will do whatever it takes to get it done,” Baram said. “And that’s really helped a lot of people around her to get inspired. She’s so dedicated, and she looks so graceful doing it.”
