Growing up in Texas, figure skating wasn’t the obvious choice when it came to sports. For Molly Perciavalle, it was the only choice. Inspired by her mom, who’s originally from Michigan, the sport turned into a gold medal–winning pursuit.

Now a freshman at Penn State, double-majoring in biomedical engineering and Spanish, the five-time gold medalist is balancing figure skating with school, all while sharing her love of skating.

“Becoming a five-time gold medalist isn’t something I ever thought was going to happen,” said Perciavalle. “My original goal was three gold medals, which I had accomplished by my junior year in high school. When I got my third, there was still the opportunity to win more, so I went for it. The journey definitely hasn’t been easy.”

While in high school, Perciavalle completed her classes online so she could focus on figure skating. When the time came, this made the transition to college different then others.

“I was able to find the balance between school and skating a lot easier when I was online, so having to be physically present in classes has been a lot different,” said Perciavalle. “It’s been a big change, but in a good way. The biggest thing for me has been setting a schedule daily, staying on top of things, and just talking with my professors and learning assistants. For me, if I’m not ahead, I’m behind.”

Perciavalle trains six days a week, with Wednesdays off to relax and recuperate. She wakes up, gets her classes done with, and then goes to train at the rink. She tries to get to the rink anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before her on-ice session. Her on-ice sessions will usually last between one and two hours, depending on the day, to work on programs and anything that needs tweaking. After practice and cool down, she’ll either go back to class or get schoolwork done. Sometimes the team will also do study sessions together or go out for dinner.

Beyond the ice, Perciavalle has also recently gotten into posting more about her figure skating on social media.

“I’ve always loved posting, but recently I’ve been trying to stay more active,” said Perciavalle. “I’ve had random people reach out wanting to collab or say that it’s so cool I figure skate. It’s such a niche sport, especially with people not knowing it’s a collegiate sport here at Penn State, so getting to share my love of it has been really cool.”

Perciavalle has traveled across the U.S. to compete in figure skating and has made some fond memories along the way.

“I’ve been able to compete at nationals three years in a row now and have been able to travel to so many places and meet so many people. The biggest thing that stands out is getting that fifth medal—it was an emotional and exciting time for me and my coaches,” said Perciavalle. “Having that result come back and hearing that I got gold was really when a dream became reality.”