While most Brown students prepare for spring break next weekend, Kia Mosenthal '12 will head to Winter Park, Colo., to compete against members of the U.S. Ski Team in the Nature Valley National Standard Race Championships. This past weekend, Mosenthal took home the gold in the slalom at the U.S. Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association National Championships and earned herself the title of USCSA representative to compete at the NASTAR championships next week.
Mosenthal has been leading the ski team in its undefeated season this year, taking home the USCSA Eastern Regional title and the regular season individual championship earlier this year.
For these awards and her consistently dominant performance in her past four seasons as a Bear, The Herald has named Mosenthal Athlete of the Week.
Herald: What was the best part of the weekend at the USCSA National Championships?
Mosenthal: Oh gosh, there are so many highlights. Definitely coming down after my second run on Friday of the slalom and seeing total smiles from everyone and knowing that we had won overall. It was a really awesome feeling.
So you were in Maine skiing this weekend - what's the best place you have ever been skiing?
I would say probably down in Argentina skiing. There were some really amazing back walls and stuff. Bariloche - it's down in southern Patagonia. I did a summer abroad in Argentina after my freshman year and then took time to just ski afterward, after my program ended. It was a lot of fun.
How long have you been skiing? Skiing competitively?
Skiing since I was two, racing since I was six. It was another excuse to spend more time on snow. I loved skiing, even when I was younger and my parents signed me up for a race program probably around five, and it was just another chance to get out and ski more. I have three younger sisters, and they all race. My sister Nika (Mosenthal '15) is actually a freshman on the team this year, which has been awesome.
So how is being on the skiing team different from being on other varsity sports at Brown?
Probably that we just have no home, there is no home event. We are always traveling on the weekends to compete. I mean, we are essentially going to another world, up in the mountains skiing in the snow and then coming back to Brown. I don't think anyone knows what we do. We travel so far - no one can really come to our events.
So the team travels a lot. What do you guys do to entertain yourself on the road?
We started recently doing books on tape. We are on the second "Hunger Games" book. We just have a van. There are only eight of us. This year, it's been awesome, everyone has just been super cohesive. It's been a really fun time.
So you are going to compete in the NASTAR championshipsas the representative from USCSA - what is that going to be like?
It's going to be the best people in the country, everyone on the U.S. Ski Team. It's going to be great to just compete in it. I don't expect to do anything amazing, but just being able to race in it is huge.
What are your plans for next year?
At least this summer I know I am going to be leading a language program in Barcelona with a company called Overland for the summer. And after that, I want to go into graphic design with some publishing company. Hopefully somewhere in the mountains east or west. But at this point I think I'll go wherever there is a job, whether or not there's good skiing.
