The arena lights slowly fade, the glass-like rink glimmers from the reflection of her costume, and the music begins to pump loudly, heard throughout the entire audience. Finally, the months of training, late-night practices, and precision in detail will pay off.

While most teenagers yearn to spend their weekends off, senior Nahed Hudson is out at the ice skating rink, flawlessly twirling on the ice while rehearsing her footwork dozens of times for her upcoming competitions.

Hudson, beginning this journey at 14 years old, wanted to join ice skating after admiring the sport in the Olympics. Her fascination with ice skating led to her eventually competing and coaching others.

“I started the Learn to Skate program at Moylan Iceplex, and then when I got in, I had a coach get very interested in me and took me under his wing, and that’s how I started,” Hudson said.

Balancing her high school classes, other extracurricular activities, and ice skating has been challenging at times, yet she understands the sacrifice and discipline needed for this sport.

“I go to the ice rink around twice a week because I have a very full schedule, but I stay there for a couple of hours because I also coach. I will be starting three times a week again because I will be doing Off Ice Academy and On Ice Academy, which are group lessons, and there are a variety of workouts included with them.”

Another way Hudson got inspired to do ice skating was through her friend, senior Eden Venema. Venema, who was just seven years old when she started skating, has helped Hudson at the start of her journey.

“We skate at the same time on Saturday mornings, and I am a level above her, so whenever she needs help learning new moves that I already learned, it’s easier for me to show her than our coach. Our coach is getting older, and it’s harder for her to show the moves. I also take videos of [Hudson] doing spins and jumps so that she can watch them back and see if she is doing them right or wrong,” Venema said.

Aside from helping Hudson with new tricks, Venema tries to attend most of her performances, too.

“I also go to all of her shows and competitions and cheer her on constantly, making sure that she is in the best mindset and doing the best that she can do, always being there for her when she needs it.”

Hudson has many support systems rooting her on while she skates, with one of her biggest supporters being her mother, Maha Amoura.

“When she first started, I came to every practice, sat in the bleachers, watched her go, and cheered in the background. I was the mom who was standing there with the camera, taking videos of her, and standing at the exit waiting for a big hug, so that she could always know that her mom is there to support her,” Amoura said.

Hudson has won several awards, one being runner-up at Excel III pre-preliminary freeskate in the 2024 Spring Fling. Despite her skating career only beginning freshman year, she plans to continue this activity for the remainder of high school; she also has plans for after.

“I do plan on continuing after high school, and I do plan on coaching as well. I really want to stay here because of my skating, as it would definitely be hard to find a new coach and a new club. I dow have a goal by the end of the school year to pass my pre-bronze skating skills and to work on my bronze skating skills, so I have a long way to go because I just passed my last skating skills test about a month ago.”

Hudson has found this activity to be one of the highlights of her high school experience, and aspires to keep her passion going. Behind the frustrations, sacrifices, and endurance she has had to invest in this activity, she wouldn’t have it any other way.