Mirai Nagasu Tackling Life After Skating

Since graduating magna cum laude from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs this past December, Nagasu has immersed herself in this philosophy. Now living in the Boston area, she supplements her time at the rink with charity work, being an advocate for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, and somehow finds time to flex her mental muscle by taking advantage of some unique opportunities in the business world.
 
"I am part of Ernst and Young's (EY) Women Athletes Business Network," she shared. "The program helps female athletes learn how to take the skills and mindset that we have developed from competing and translate them into the business world."
 
As part of the program, Nagasu attends virtual lectures and has access to a network of like-minded female athletes who share experiences and advice with one another. She also has direct access to a senior partner at EY who serves as a mentor to the budding businesswoman. 
 
"My mentor is also Asian American and being able to relate to her on different levels outside of business has been so helpful," Nagasu explained. "She has shared her own experiences that are similar to that Olympian mindset that I grew into. In learning about her career, it makes my transition seem so much more tangible and plausible. I love talking with her."
 
Nagasu is also taking part in Dartmouth University's Next Step program that helps athletes and military personnel transition into a career in business.
 
"It helps us to think about how we pivot from our respective worlds into the world of business," she said. "I've only just started the program, but I have already learned that I need to get better at the art of the self-pitch."
 
Earlier this year, Nagasu was invited to take part in a project sponsored by the Boston Kimono Festival Organization featuring prominent Japanese American women from the area in a calendar that will be sold to raise money for charity. The benefactors, the Massachusetts General Hospital Child Depression Program and National Center for Child Health and Development in Japan, are near to Nagasu's heart, so she readily agreed to participate.
 
"When I was a teenager I worked with a sports psychologist," Nagasu said. "Our conversations were always about skating. Looking back, I wish that there would have been a way to balance that with my own personal life. My generation has really stepped up to help remove the stigma of asking for help so that we can help others know that they are not alone."
 
Nagasu worked with celebrated kimono dresser Seiko Kitagawa and skating dress maker Yumi Barnett Nakamura, who collaborated to create a handcrafted garment that she would wear in the calendar photo shoot.
 
"It wasn't as heavy as a traditional kimono, and it could have actually been skated in," Nagasu said. "There was a long robe that Seiko hand-painted with Sakura flowers and it was quite beautiful."
 
The calendar was shot in the tradition of Shichi-Go-San (Seven-Five-Three) in which three- and seven-year-old girls (and five-year-old boys) are photographed in kimono, often for the first time.
 
"I actually didn't do this when I was a kid, so it was really special for me to be able to participate in this rite of passage," Nagasu said.
 
Nagasu's photo shoot took place on a frozen lake in the Boston area, and while she was eager to skate on natural ice, she was not prepared for what she discovered when she arrived the day of the shoot.
 
"Maybe I was just naïve, but I somehow thought that a lake would freeze over, and the ice would be perfectly clean like glass," she said laughing. "I helped a stranger shovel snow off the ice because he was planning to play hockey with his friends later in the day, and we worked together so that we could both use it."
 
The shoot was further complicated by the fact that the weather was a bit uncooperative for an ideal skating situation, but Nagasu took it all in stride.
 
"The sun came out for a bit before we started, so there was a layer of water on top of the ice," she said. "My boots were drenched, and I felt like I was actually swimming. By the time we started, the sky turned a bit grey, which is perfect for photography, and I think that the pictures turned out to be quite beautiful."
 
Nagasu expects to be featured in the month of February in the calendar, which will be available for purchase in advance of 2022.
 
As she becomes more connected to her cultural heritage, Nagasu has become empowered to speak out on issues that impact the AAPI community. She is appalled the rash of violence that has been inflicted upon her community in recent months.
 
"I was raised to believe that we are all equal no matter our sex or race, but 2021 has made it clear that not everyone feels that way," Nagasu said. "Issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion have become so important, and we need to continue to make progress in that regard. What has been happening is frightening. I'm worried for my elders who are doing nothing more than taking a stroll in the park. They are not prepared to fight back. People my age are getting violently beaten because of race. It hurts my soul to see the aftermath of the violence, but we need to see it so that people know that it is happening."
 
Nagasu points to #hateisavirus as a place to support the AAPI community in their march against racism and violence.
 
"One of the co-founders is former figure skater Michelle Hanabusa," Nagasu pointed out. "The organization works to raise awareness and educate about issues impacting the AAPI community, and it hopes to unify us all against violence towards the same."
 
To learn more about the organization please visit hateisavirus.org or #hateisavirus.