Mamiko Yamai came to the United States with minimal English-speaking skills, a passion for figure skating and a strong motivation to expand her horizons in dance and language. Yamai, a foreign exchange student from Japan, then made her way to California State University, Northridge in 2007 to make her lifelong dream of becoming an Olympic judge a reality.
This year, she finally got her wish: Yamai was appointed as an Olympic figure skating judge for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Yamai competed in figure skating competitions for Japan during the late 1990s and eventually became a technical specialist for her native country, a job that requires extensive knowledge in figure skating techniques. That led her to become even more entrenched in studying the intricacies that go into the sport, and eventually that pointed her toward becoming a judge.
Yamai said she was amazed and ecstatic that she was named a judge, and attributes her past experience as a technical specialist, figure skater and her learning experience at CSUN to her being chosen.
“I felt so happy and amazed, and tense at the same time,” she said. “At first, I wanted to take a rest because I had been through a lot of pressure and tiring moments. But I realized that I have to brace myself even more because of the bigger tasks and responsibilities than what a technical specialist needs to do. I need to show the International Skating Union that I’m more than qualified by showing off not only my expertise in this sport but also my communication skills in English.”
Yamai’s adviser from CSUN Paula Thomson described her as quiet, yet determined to reach her goal of becoming an Olympic judge.
“She was shy but brave. She was very determined,” Thomson said. “She knew what she needed and would find the way to get it. She was very proactive.”
Yamai described her time at CSUN as a network of various learning opportunities.
“First of all, there was a considerable diversity in how I acquired knowledge at CSUN that is essential for widening and enhancing my skills,” she said. “For example, I could take lessons from various dance classes that developed and improved my performance. I also learned choreography and physical training.”
She went on to say that the faculty and staff at CSUN were very supportive in getting her to where she wanted to be as a judge.
“I was also given lots of practical opportunities to work with my classmates and teachers, which was really helpful to enrich my communication skills,” she said. “I’m very grateful to them because they were so supportive.”
Thompson said she was proud of Yamai and that she had come so far since she started at CSUN.
“She arrived at CSUN with minimal dance knowledge,” Thompson recalled. “Her goal was to understand dance so that she could integrate it into figure skating. She completed one year as an exchange student and took every dance class that was offered. It makes all our hard work even more worthwhile when you see such gifted students reach their dreams.”