Pooja Kalyan, an 18-year-old NWA native, has her sights set on becoming the second-ever figure skating Olympian from Arkansas. Kalyan, a former student of the New School in Fayetteville, is now studying virtually and training full-time in Colorado Springs.

• The skater boasts an impressive track record - she is a U.S. Figure Skating Junior silver medalist and a novice bronze medalist. "Olympics has been one of my biggest dreams," she said. -40/29 News
• Kalyan mentioned inspiration struck during her first visit to the Jones Center in 2009 when she saw skaters "spinning and twirling". More importantly, she is now one of the few figure skaters of South Asian descent at the international level.
• "I think it's a great way to show skaters that they can achieve a lot in this sport regardless of what skin tone they have or what ethnicity they are," Kalyan said. "I just think that that's kinda what I'm trying to show as I progress through figure skating." -40/29 News