Trisha Variyar (’23) glides gracefully across the ice skating rink, arms extended with perfect poise. Beneath her, elegant arcs and lines form on the surface of the ice, carved by the edges of her skates. Bending low and swinging her right arm up, she twists into the air, time seeming to slow around her. As her right skate meets the ice again, Trisha smiles, delighting in the simple pleasures of the sport.

Since beginning figure skating at the age of 3, Trisha began training more rigorously in fourth grade, winning a national gold medal through the U.S. figure skating association last summer. Although she enjoys and excels at the competitive aspect of skating, the most memorable aspects of her experience are the little moments and the community surrounding the sport.

“I think of my coaches almost like I think of my parents,” Trisha said. “They’ve been with me for years and years — one of my coaches has seen me since I was three. I’ll go to them for anything.”

Despite its rewards, such a demanding sport often proved stressful for Trisha, especially as she progressed into more advanced competition. When she stopped skating midseason due to the pandemic, Trisha realized how much she missed the sport, reflecting on its joys during her much-needed break from the stress of competition.

“When I was deep into competition, I fell out of love of skating,” Trisha said. “It became like a chore more than something that I enjoyed doing. But now that I’ve taken a step back, I truly like competing, and I like performing.”

As the skills she needed to master grew more difficult, Trisha realized that flaws are part of the learning process and began cherishing her smaller successes in skating. Through strenuous activity and hard work, she has learned to overcome any obstacles, developing a fierce determination of her own. 

“Perseverance is something that’s been a key defining trait of my life because a lot of what I’ve had to do never came on the first try,” Trisha said. “I’ve always had to try multiple times in order to achieve something. I think skating is kind of a physical manifestation of that.” 

Fellow figure skater and close friend Ashley Ruan (’23) admires Trisha’s dedication to improvement, unafraid to make mistakes and learn from them while maintaining a positive attitude.

“She’s always able to approach challenges with a smile,” Ashley said. “I see her at practice, and even though she’s falling and her coach might tell her what she did wrong, she’ll always get up with a smile and try again.”

That tenacity and positivity reveals itself to others through a brilliant optimism, brightening the lives of those around her. Close friend Sara Wan (’23) cherishes that cheerfulness, describing it as one of Trisha’s key qualities. Not only does her approachable attitude influence her peers in the classroom, but it also strengthens her friendships.

“[What’s unique about her] is her positive energy,” Sara said. “She’s always had this aura around her that’s very enthusiastic and energetic. That carries a long way not only in classrooms with her interactions with other professionals but also in her friendships and relationships as well.”

Trisha’s dedication and positivity also spur on her work in finance and economics. After first developing an interest in the field after joining DECA in ninth grade, she immediately gravitated towards the welcoming attitudes of the finance cluster. Drawing support from others, Trisha discovered the diversity of the domain, a field which allows her to apply both her love for math and logic. 

“[Finance] has definitely been a very big part of my life,” Trisha said. “I really like numbers. I really like math, and I love that econ and finance allow me to use some of the math that I learned, [while] not involving very hard, direct math. It’s more applied math.”

Upper school economics teacher Dean Lizardo commends the infectious enthusiasm Trisha always brings to her work. He remembers Trisha’s eager participation and inside jokes fondly, reminiscing about the days when they would banter over who was the bigger Jordan Poole fan. 

“Prior to knowing Trisha, I always thought she was the type of person that just wanted to do well and wanted to achieve,” Lizardo said. “But as I’ve gotten to know her more, and I’ve gotten to see her interest, it’s very clear that she’s not just doing these sorts of things for the sake of, ‘I got to put this on my resume,’ and it’s more about I’m actually interested in this stuff that I’m doing.”

Trisha’s love for figure skating and finance have intersected in a ritual she has with her skating coach. Combining her two interests, Trisha made it a tradition to predict the growth of stocks during every practice once the market opened at 6:30 a.m., one of the many quirks of figure skating she looked forward to. 

Though a tragic hip injury has stopped Trisha from skating in the near future, her love of the sport lives on. Carrying the lessons she learned from skating and finance, Trisha strides boldly into the future, carving a path forwards.

“One thing that [figure skating] really taught me was, you’re in this state of hyper emotion, but you have to learn to manage your emotions and expectations and feelings,” Trisha said. “With investment banking, it’s a very similar situation where you’re constantly on edge. A lot of what you do isn’t dependent on your own work. It’s dependent on other people or it’s dependent on the stock market. And I think that those lessons will be able to translate very well into my actual career.”