As we approach the end of another academic year, the Stanford Figure Skating Club (SFSC) would like to recognize our outstanding graduates, Sala Ba, Rebecca Ye, Jierui Fang, Xiao (Nathalie) Yu, and Janice Teoh.  

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Sala Ba (M.S., Mechanical Engineering '25)
 
While participating in her final year of graduate school, Sala brought a fun and energetic presence to the team. Sala started figure skating in 7th grade and skated through her freshman year of high school. She had to stop in high school and undergrad but she back onto the ice in September 2024 when she joined the SFSC! In just a few months, Sala landed an axel for the first time in almost a decade and earned 3rd place at her first ever skating competition in February 2025!  

Sala commented that her experience as a member of the SFSC was overwhelmingly positive! "From goofing around at off-ice to practicing together early mornings to cheering each other on at competitions, this has truly been one of the best experiences of my time here at Stanford! I am so grateful for the friends I made and how they have served as my support and inspiration!"

Sala said that she loves working on jumps and skating skills. Her long term goals are "to have a consistent axel and progress through the adult testing sequence."  

Sala's favorite memory was practicing penguin slides with her teammates on an empty freestyle session and cheering when the SFSC won 2nd place at the "Skates on the Bay" intercollegiate competition in San Jose, CA.  After graduation, Sala plans to move to Seattle where she will be a Test Engineer at Blue Origin. Sala also plans to keep skating and hopefully reunite with the SFSC teammates at future US Figure Skating Associate (USFSA) Adult Sectional Championship competitions! 

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Rebecca Ye (M.A., Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies '25)
 
Rebecca was featured in a November 2024 SFSC article for her dual skills in figure skating and hockey! Rebecca started skating when she was only three years of age.  Rebecca reflected on her year with the SFSC team, "It's been so fun skating with everyone and getting tips and tricks from each other on jumps and spins. There's also nothing like eating handfuls of sour gummies on a long drive with the team to the competition and then chasing a cat around at the Airbnb."

Rebecca, who previously competed as part of the Lexettes synchronized skating team, noted that she was proud of her SFSC accomplishments, including competing solo in freestyle for the first time! Rebecca really enjoyed the process of learning a new program, picking music, finding a dress, and putting it all together. "I've only ever competed with a team, so skating out alone in an arena was a totally new experience." 

Rebecca plans to stay in the Bay Area after graduation as she explores ways to use her degree. She also plans to continue her skating journey. One of her goals is to pass all of her international solo dances.   

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Jierui Fang (M.S. Design '23, M.A. Public Policy '25) 
 
Jierui began skating as a child in West Virginia when her parents convinced her to try it out. "The local rink would close down every summer so we would drive up to Pittsburgh. There was a group of us in my neighborhood that would skate together."  

Jierui returned to competitive skating in 2022 after over a decade off the ice. Her first experience with SFSC was when she tagged along to a practice to work on her skating skills; just a week later, she decided to join the competitive team and go to her first intercollegiate competition with a routine she pulled from elementary/middle school. Jierui accomplished several of her skating goals while on the team, including placing top three at every level/discipline she competed. As a two-year member of the team, Jierui learned ice dance skills and passed her intermediate skating skills test. Jierui described her time on the SFSC team as "full of community and mutual support. Lots of unexpected learning and growing."  

Jierui said her favorite SFSC experiences were volunteering as ice patchers at USFSA Nationals in 2023 and getting together with her teammates for a trip to Figure Skating World Championships in Boston in 2025.

Jierui said the best part of skating is being able to embody something different on ice. Her future skating goals are to pass her novice, junior, and senior skating skills tests. Jierui added that she will miss her teammates and the challenges and joy of competing with her intercollegiate team.  

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Xiao (Nathalie) Yu (M.S., Law '25)
 
Nathalie started skating when she was 11-years old, but she took a long break before resuming in 2021. She commented that "skating makes me happy because every time I'm on the ice, I feel the speed and power."

Nathalie found her love of skating again with the SFSC. Nathalie said with gratitude that joining the SFSC team was her wisest decision. "I have never joined a skating team or competed before. Back in my undergrad, I lamented not knowing the school staking club. At Stanford, I had a great time meeting so many talented skaters and learning a lot from them. And I was encouraged to compete in the first competition in my life."  

When asked about her favorite memory while on the SFSC team, Nathalie replied, "we had so many great memories together. I really enjoyed my competitions in Logan, UT and San Jose, CA. Our team was very close and worked collectively towards our goal – and I can recall the moment we were announced as the second place finisher in the 'Skate on the Bay' Area competition."  

Nathalie also enjoyed the weekly on and off-ice practices with her teammates. She said that skating during graduate school was uplifting because her SFSC teammates have so much passion for figure skating.  

Nathlie also reflected on the life skills of figure skating. "Skating requires both coordination and strength. I like feeling present and connected to my body, and I also like the sense of accomplishment, while I achieve some goals that I thought were out of reach."

Nathalie plans a career focused on corporate and capital markets either in the Bay Area or in Hong Kong. She also plans to continue her skating, with short term goals of getting her flip jump back and becoming more confident with her backward scratch spin. In the long run, she hopes to continue to make progress as long as she has the courage and physical capability. She made a promise to herself to find the time to continue skating, even if she needs to commute for two hours to the ice rink in Hong Kong.

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Janice Teoh (B.S., Computer Science HCI '25 and M.S., Computer Science AI '25)
 
Janice started figure skating after attending a friend's birthday party as a 7-year old— "we went to the Cupertino Ice rink, and I had so much fun that I ended up taking lessons and picking up skating afterwards."  Janice went on to compete internationally, placing First at Malaysian Nationals (2017) and Third at Southeast Asian Challenge (2017).  She has been a member of the SFSC since the club's first competitive season under Club Sports in 2021-22. 

When asked to describe her time on the SFSC team, Janice eloquently replied, "SFSC has always been such a home to me for the last couple of years. The ice and this club are where I forget about all the hectic, crazy happenings that come with being a student for a little while. [SFSC teammates] taught me that—even though I thought I was done learning new things about this sport—there's so much more to appreciate and love. I once dreaded competing and performing before college, but now I'm mourning the idea that I'll never be able to do those things with [them] again. I don't want to imagine competing without all of us screaming and kicking the boards together."

One of Janice's favorite memories was from the "Skate on the Bay" competition— "…stepping off the ice deliriously and being bombarded with flowers and hugs from friends and family was so sweet. I think it'll be a memory I cherish for the rest of my life."

Janice also reflected on her figure skating accomplishments.  She ran her first clean program in competition with the SFSC team, worked towards more consistent jumps, and learned how to perform. She is most proud of the close friendships she developed on the team and with competitors from other Pacific Coast schools.  She added, "I finally found my community within skating." 

Janice also shared more about her love for skating. "The feeling of flying over a sheet of ice, the self-expression that I feel as though I can't access anywhere else, and the rush of landing a jump perfectly."

Janice plans a career working as a software or AI/ML engineer but will find time to continue skating goals.  "I would love to land a double axel sometime within the next couple of years—it's been something I've been half-heartedly working towards for a while, but I'd love to take it a bit more seriously after I graduate since it's been one of my goals for a long time. I'd also love to continue developing my skating style and growing and experimenting artistically!"

Finally, Janice expressed her appreciation to the SFSC for a wonderful four years of skating. "I'm so happy that I got to meet all of you and skate with everyone; it's truly been one of my favorite experiences at Stanford."

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All our graduating skaters will be performing for the last time with SFSC at our End-of-Year Showcase on Tuesday, June 3rd at 5 PM.