Back on the Ice
Sydney Robinson had walked away from elite skating. At Sacred Heart, she returned to discover joy and leadership
From the spring 2026 issue of Sacred Heart University Magazine
Key Highlights
- After leaving elite figure skating because of burnout and injuries, Sydney Robinson rediscovered her love for the sport through Sacred Heart University's club figure skating team
- Sacred Heart provided Robinson with the opportunity to redefine her relationship with skating, allowing her to compete for enjoyment, teamwork, and personal fulfillment rather than pressure and performance alone
- The club team helped Robinson build lasting friendships and a strong sense of belonging, easing her transition from homeschooling to campus life
Sydney Robinson found more than a great education. She also found her community.
Now a senior, the 21-year-old from East Greenwich, RI, is double-majoring in marketing and management. She chose Sacred Heart to challenge herself academically, join extracurriculars, and enjoy campus life. What she didn’t expect was to return to a sport she had left behind, or to find confidence and joy through leadership.
Robinson was a competitive figure skater throughout most of her teenage years. To accommodate her practices and intense schedules, she was homeschooled from the age of 12. At the end of her high school career, she decided to hang up her skates. She had dealt with her share of injuries and was burned out; she was ready to leave skating behind.
SHU was a culture shock—teachers, classrooms, and classmates were all new. But she was determined to have a “normal” college life and dive into her studies.
“It was an overwhelming experience,” Robinson says. “I was so used to being by myself, even walking around campus with so many people was weird.”
On campus, she kept bumping into two students: former skating opponents she had competed against since she was 7. The students encouraged Robinson to join SHU’s club figure skating team.
“I kept running into them,” Robinson says. “They tried to convince me to skate, and I said, ‘No, no, I’m past that.’”
After waving off their suggestions a few times, Robinson finally agreed to go to one practice, but just to watch. “Everyone was so welcoming,” she says. “They made it fun.”
Coach Lisa Fedick later invited Robinson to a competition, but she still insisted she was done.
Through these meet ups with the club, Robinson began to have a change of heart. She really did start to miss skating. Robinson knew if she was going to get back into it, she wasn’t going to let it get in the way of her life or other interests she wanted to pursue.
These leadership roles transformed me as a person. They helped me realize who I want to be. - Sydney Robinson
“Everything happens for a reason,” Robinson says. “I think I had to take a break to find my love for it again.”
Four years later, Robinson is now team vice president and has found a community of like-minded people with whom she loves practicing and competing. She says having fun is what changed skating for her. “The fun gets taken away in elite skating.”
Robinson also appreciates the team aspect. On a collegiate level, the student-athletes compete individually, but their scores are combined into a team tally.
As part of a team, she says, skaters push each other to be their best. SHU competes with top programs including Cornell University, Boston University, New York University, and Dartmouth College.
“The Sacred Heart figure skating team has given Sydney the opportunity to return to skating on her terms. Suddenly she was doing it for herself, by her own rules, and through this she discovered her true joy,” says Fedick.
Indeed, Robinson will graduate with the SHU record for scoring the most career team points in U.S. Figure Skating qualifying competitions.
Fedick adds, “After so many years of skating being her main focus, it turned into an enhancement to everything Sydney has been able to accomplish off the ice in four short years. As much as I will miss her skating skills, her leadership, and her infectious laugh, I am so excited to watch the next chapter of Sydney’s journey unfold.”
Life Beyond Skating at SHU
Robinson says anyone who knew her before SHU wouldn’t expect her to be so outgoing.
“These leadership roles transformed me as a person,” she says. “They helped me realize who I want to be.”
This past year, Robinson was president of her sorority, Chi Omega. In that role, she led a group of 200 female college students, worked closely with the rest of the sorority’s board, helped and advised her sorority sisters, and talked to presidents of other chapters. “It really is a life-changing experience,” she says.
At the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, Robinson is taking advantage of the many networking events. She pursues career advice, résumé updates, and mock interviews from the Center for Career & Professional Development and enjoys her challenging course load.
Although Robinson is unsure where life will take her after Commencement, she feels prepared for whatever comes next, thanks to her time at Sacred Heart.
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