By Ivy Velazquez
Often, following one’s dreams can seem intimidating. There can be so much uncertainty, never really being able to tell whether that dream can truly become a reality. For Michelle Fee however, this wasn’t about to stop her from pursuing hers to become a professional ice skater. And it was this determination that brought her all the way to Germany.
A local to Valrico, Fee is a graduate from Bloomingdale High School. She recently graduated from the University of Central Florida this past December where she majored in event management. And it wasn’t long after graduating that Fee moved to Germany to start her job as an ice skater at the theme park Phantasialand.
Fee has been ice skating for almost 16 years. She first started when she was 6-years-old, when she was introduced to it by going to a friend’s birthday party at the local ice skating rink. From there, she started taking lessons and hasn’t stopped skating since. She has had many achievements as an ice skater, from medaling in competitions to receiving the Helen McLoraine Scholarship from U.S. Figure Skating for three years of college.
According to Fee, these pale in comparison to what she feels to be her highest achievement thus far. “My biggest achievement has been passing my Senior Freeskate test, which is the highest level test you can take in figure skating. It was a huge goal of mine to pass this test before I graduated from high school, and I did so about a week before my graduation,” she said.
Fee heard about the position in Germany through an online organization for figure skaters. When applying, she sent in an audition video and some recommendation letters and was fortunate enough to be offered a contract a month later.
“When I was in the process of applying for the job, I was terrified of what would happen if I actually was offered the position. I was graduating from college in December, so I decided that I wanted to pursue my passion for skating in any way that I could – and if that meant moving across the world, then I wanted to go for it,” said Fee. She added that it has been an amazing experience and that it has solidified her feelings to making ice skating her career.
Her current contract ends this coming November, but Fee has already started looking at options for the winter season. “I may stay here in Germany, or try to go travel to a new place and experience a different show,” she said. She also mentioned that she has always been a Disney girl at heart and may even look into Disney On Ice. “It would be an amazing opportunity because they have tours that take you all over the world.”
More information about Phantasialand and Fee’s show, Ice College 2016, can be found at www.phantasialand.de/en/home/. Fee can be contacted at michellefee30@gmail.com.
