Featured Athlete
Michael McNulty

How long have you been skateboarding?

“I have been skateboarding for twelve years, nearly half of my life.”

Why is education important to you?

“Since I was very young, I always knew I loved things like outer space and black holes but never knew I could make a life for myself out of studying them. Toward the end of my senior year of high school, I finally learned that I could and began devoting my time to studying mathematics and physics. Now, I’m in graduate school studying mathematics very closely related to the formation of black holes. Education is an essential component of the path toward this life I want for myself. Furthermore, education provides me an outlet to share my love for mathematics and physics with other people who do, or might, feel the same.”

How is the skate scene on your campus? How many students skate?

“The skate scene is incredible. It honestly did not feel real to me at first. Not only is it a great place to skate, but the skaters are also all so welcoming and friendly. UCR has a skate club with members that all meet at a central point on campus nearly every day. All people, no matter their experience with skating, are welcomed with a solid high five and fist bump. I’ve made some great friends through skate club and it is an essential aspect of my graduate student life.”

Favorite trick right now?

“Either front blunts on flat bars, front crooks on ledges, or floaty kickflips. Front feeble is my favorite to watch, though.”

Favorite thing about skateboarding?

“It’s difficult to nail down one thing, of course. I love the friendships that come so easily and the lasting ones I’ve made. I also love how difficult skateboarding is. It took me three months to land one kickflip and another three months to land multiple kickflips in a single day. As I progress through graduate school and research, I’m learning that academic work is very similar. Not too long ago, I spent seven weeks trying to solve a problem in my research just to find out my initial guess at the solution had been excruciatingly close to the correct one. The difficult aspects of skateboarding have equipped me to deal with struggles like this. I’ve committed myself to a difficult goal because I love it and nothing is going to stop me from accomplishing that goal.”