Northwestern University Athletics
Getting to Know: Mikela Goldstein
1/20/2016 11:00:00 AM | Women's Fencing
As the Northwestern fencing team heads down the stretch of the 2015-16 season, NUsports.com caught up with senior Mikela Goldstein. She shares some of the biggest lessons she has learned from Northwestern and from fencing in this edition of "Getting to Know."
NUsports.com: Why did you choose Northwestern?
Goldstein: "Similar to most student-athletes here, I loved the idea of being able to compete in my sport at the highest level while pursuing a world-class education, and having Chicago in my backyard was also a pretty big selling point. When choosing schools, it really came down to picking the team that would help me grow most as a fencer and a person (plus I love the color purple). The cohesion on this team is unrivaled by any other team in the country. Also, my older sister went to school in the Midwest, and from her experiences, I knew that it would be a nice change of pace from New York."
What was the biggest change you experienced when moving from New York to Evanston?
"Adjusting to deep dish pizza and the lack of real (New York) bagels. Also, I grew up training predominantly with boys. Not only is the style of male fencing very different from that of females, but also the social dynamic was an adjustment. It was a big transition in the beginning to learn to handle the personalities and emotions of 29 other girls."
What are your expectations for yourself in your final season?
"As I try to approach everything in life, I want to leave this team having helped to make it an even better place than it was when I got here…and hopefully with Midwest Conference Championship rings on our fingers. I have watched the other seniors grow into such phenomenal leaders on and off the strip, and I am excited to see the younger girls already starting to do the same. Right now, I am really just making sure to enjoy every moment I have left fencing and being with my teammates."
How did you get into fencing?
"Unlike most fencers, I wasn't inspired by The Parent Trap, Zorro, or The Princess Bride. When I was 10 years old, a friend of mine called me up (meaning his mom called my mom) and told me that there was a 2004 Olympic fencer, who had graduated from my high school, coaching a fencing clinic at a local community center, and the rest is history I guess. I stuck with the program and continued to train with that same coach for the rest of my high school career, which brought me to tournaments all over the world and introduced me to my closest friends."
Describe your pre-match ritual.
"Honestly, I try not to get too wrapped up in rituals and superstitions. Naturally, I get pretty nervous before competing, but I fence my best when I don't overthink things. I have a relatively consistent pre-competition warm-up during which I listen to pump-up music, but I make sure to take a few minutes before I start to chat with my teammates and take my mind off the nerves. You'll often find me jumping around, joking, and laughing with teammates in between bouts."
What are some of your hobbies?
"I love to travel! I have actually been to more countries than I have states. I'd have to say that two of my favorite trips have been to Burma and a tournament in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany. Tauber is home of the German Olympic Fencing Training Center, so the whole town is basically centered around fencing, which is not something you would ever see here in the U.S."
What is one thing that people should know about you?
"I may not seem like it when you first meet me, but I am an incredibly loud person, especially when I am cheering for the 'Cats. My teammates joke that if Northwestern student sections were comprised of only me, I would still be louder than all of the other fans of either team…combined. At NCAAs this past year, I (proudly) single-handedly out-cheered the entire Notre Dame fencing team."
What is your favorite thing about fencing?
"If you had asked me this question a few years ago, I would have said something about the combination of the physical and mental strength required by the sport. But as I look back on my fencing career, what stands out to me most are the people I have met throughout the process. I have made so many of my closest friends through the sport, both at Northwestern and at other schools. A group of my closest friends fence for some of the other top programs in the country, and we have it out when we fence each other (I can get quite loud when fencing them), but once the bout is over, everything goes back to normal."
What is the most valuable thing you have learned from fencing?
"The importance of a support structure and resiliency. The transition from fencing as an individual to being a part of a team was not always easy, but in the end, it was a huge growing experience for me. I realized that being a leader isn't about winning the most bouts; it's about helping to make your teammates the best they can be, and my teammates, especially the foil squad, have done that for me every day. Also, in fencing, like in life, you're not going to succeed all the time, no matter how hard you try. You learn that whether you win or lose a bout, the next bout always starts at 0-0 and you have to do it all over again. I haven't succeeded in every class I have taken here at NU, and I'm sure I won't always succeed at everything I do in the future, but as fencing has taught me, you have to take everything one point at a time."
NUsports.com: Why did you choose Northwestern?
Goldstein: "Similar to most student-athletes here, I loved the idea of being able to compete in my sport at the highest level while pursuing a world-class education, and having Chicago in my backyard was also a pretty big selling point. When choosing schools, it really came down to picking the team that would help me grow most as a fencer and a person (plus I love the color purple). The cohesion on this team is unrivaled by any other team in the country. Also, my older sister went to school in the Midwest, and from her experiences, I knew that it would be a nice change of pace from New York."
What was the biggest change you experienced when moving from New York to Evanston?
"Adjusting to deep dish pizza and the lack of real (New York) bagels. Also, I grew up training predominantly with boys. Not only is the style of male fencing very different from that of females, but also the social dynamic was an adjustment. It was a big transition in the beginning to learn to handle the personalities and emotions of 29 other girls."
What are your expectations for yourself in your final season?
"As I try to approach everything in life, I want to leave this team having helped to make it an even better place than it was when I got here…and hopefully with Midwest Conference Championship rings on our fingers. I have watched the other seniors grow into such phenomenal leaders on and off the strip, and I am excited to see the younger girls already starting to do the same. Right now, I am really just making sure to enjoy every moment I have left fencing and being with my teammates."
How did you get into fencing?
"Unlike most fencers, I wasn't inspired by The Parent Trap, Zorro, or The Princess Bride. When I was 10 years old, a friend of mine called me up (meaning his mom called my mom) and told me that there was a 2004 Olympic fencer, who had graduated from my high school, coaching a fencing clinic at a local community center, and the rest is history I guess. I stuck with the program and continued to train with that same coach for the rest of my high school career, which brought me to tournaments all over the world and introduced me to my closest friends."
Describe your pre-match ritual.
"Honestly, I try not to get too wrapped up in rituals and superstitions. Naturally, I get pretty nervous before competing, but I fence my best when I don't overthink things. I have a relatively consistent pre-competition warm-up during which I listen to pump-up music, but I make sure to take a few minutes before I start to chat with my teammates and take my mind off the nerves. You'll often find me jumping around, joking, and laughing with teammates in between bouts."
What are some of your hobbies?
"I love to travel! I have actually been to more countries than I have states. I'd have to say that two of my favorite trips have been to Burma and a tournament in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany. Tauber is home of the German Olympic Fencing Training Center, so the whole town is basically centered around fencing, which is not something you would ever see here in the U.S."
What is one thing that people should know about you?
"I may not seem like it when you first meet me, but I am an incredibly loud person, especially when I am cheering for the 'Cats. My teammates joke that if Northwestern student sections were comprised of only me, I would still be louder than all of the other fans of either team…combined. At NCAAs this past year, I (proudly) single-handedly out-cheered the entire Notre Dame fencing team."
What is your favorite thing about fencing?
"If you had asked me this question a few years ago, I would have said something about the combination of the physical and mental strength required by the sport. But as I look back on my fencing career, what stands out to me most are the people I have met throughout the process. I have made so many of my closest friends through the sport, both at Northwestern and at other schools. A group of my closest friends fence for some of the other top programs in the country, and we have it out when we fence each other (I can get quite loud when fencing them), but once the bout is over, everything goes back to normal."
What is the most valuable thing you have learned from fencing?
"The importance of a support structure and resiliency. The transition from fencing as an individual to being a part of a team was not always easy, but in the end, it was a huge growing experience for me. I realized that being a leader isn't about winning the most bouts; it's about helping to make your teammates the best they can be, and my teammates, especially the foil squad, have done that for me every day. Also, in fencing, like in life, you're not going to succeed all the time, no matter how hard you try. You learn that whether you win or lose a bout, the next bout always starts at 0-0 and you have to do it all over again. I haven't succeeded in every class I have taken here at NU, and I'm sure I won't always succeed at everything I do in the future, but as fencing has taught me, you have to take everything one point at a time."
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