Magda Luczak (Bus’25)
Olympic skier
For most first-year students, a major accomplishment of the fall semester is navigating campus without getting lost.
Magda Luczak expects her days of getting lost on campus aren’t over yet, but she has an excuse, having only spent six weeks of the fall semester in Boulder. The rest of the time, she was in the mountains of Europe, preparing to represent her native Poland at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
Her spring, meanwhile, began remotely from her home of Lodz, outside Warsaw, after a successful 2021 that saw her earn her first World Cup points at an event in Courchevel, France.
“Coming from Poland, everything was new to me—the people, the culture and the campus,” she said. “When I was applying to ŷڱƵ Boulder, I read about how it’s one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. Now, being here, I realize how lucky I am to be able to study in such a nice place.”
The best alpine skiers, not surprisingly, tend to come from mountainous areas—which Lodz is not. Magda credits her love of the sport to her parents, who enjoyed the sport and encouraged their daughters’ interest in it.
‘A win for all of us’
“I’m grateful for my parents and their support, because I wouldn't be here without them,” she said. “I may be the one going to the Olympics, but it feels like a win for all of us.”
One of the most valuable things an athlete can bring to the field is a sense of perspective. Magda is fortunate in that in Poland, there are fewer skiers, and therefore more opportunities. She’s appreciated being able to being around older athletes who have helped her adopt the right mental attitude to the sport, but being part of a team at ŷڱƵ is helping her even more.
“Even just in doing some of the physical preparation and training, it’s a really nice change to be supported and be part of a group, as a skier,” she said.
That also extends to her academic experience. As a freshman, she doesn’t have to declare a major yet, and isn’t sure what career path she might take, “but I’ve never received so much support as a student than I have at Leeds,” she said. “The academic advisors, the staff and the faculty have been a great help to me already.”