Hello out there! As
one of the newest Dream Team members I would like to take this chance to
introduce myself. My name is Lindsay Grajek and I am currently living
in-between Massachusetts and Michigan. I grew up in the small town of Howell, Michigan, where at the age of 5 I started skating for my local synchronized
skating team at Grand Oaks Ice Arena. I then
went on to skate for the Hockettes out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where my younger sister
Christine actually still skates. At the
end of my junior year of high school I decided to take a large leap, trying out
for the Haydenettes. It was an absolute dream come true to receive the news that
I had made the team, but immediately after the reality of that dream became
very clear. If I wanted to be a member of the team I would have to move out to
the Boston area and attend a new high school for much of my senior year. It was
extremely hard for me to leave the home I had always known and my friends that
had been there for me my entire life, but it was well worth it.
During the year I live and train
in Massachusetts. I go to a small school
in the Western part of the state called Fitchburg State University. I am a part
time student studying biology, in hopes of later going into Veterinary
medicine. With the remainder of my time outside of classes and skating, I work
at the recreation center at my school. It was originally planned that I would
spend one year after graduation in Massachusetts and then transfer back to
Michigan to be a full time student. Well, as I go into my third year at
Fitchburg and my fourth season with the Haydenettes, I can say that plan didn’t
exactly pan out, and thank goodness for that!
So far this summer I have driven the
12 hour haul from Massachusetts to Michigan about 3 times round trip with my
teammate, Courtney Cameron, who also lives in Michigan. Recently we took the
time during our drive to make a quick stop at Niagara Falls in Canada. When the
team has practice during the summer I spend my mornings working as a lifeguard
at my school’s recreation center and then drive over to the rink for the rest
of the evening. I also took part in my
first worksop as a DREAMer this summer. The camp was hosted by the Unity figure skating
club in Sugarland, Texas and it was an amazing experience. There were so many
young, talented and hardworking skaters that really helped remind me what our
sport is all about.
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| Courtney Cameron and I at Niagara Falls in Canada |
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| Rylee and I in Sugarland, Texas |
When I
have time at home I can be found one of two places, at the rink or on the
water. Living in Michigan it is easy to
find open ice at just about any point of the day. Many times on nice days I am
the only one at the rink. There is nothing better than having an open sheet of
ice and the ability to play whatever music I choose. My other love is for the
water. I live on Lake Chemung back in
Howell and I love just about any activity that can be done on it; skiing,
wakeboarding, tubing, or just swimming. I guess that would include skating as
well in the winter! (Frozen water).
I hope that everyone has a great summer!
-Lindsay
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