Q: How did you come to represent Puerto Rico in the skeleton?

A: I had a friend who had met with the Winter Federation at a prior Olympics and he was like, ‘They're trying to build their Winter Federation and maybe you should look into it.’ I  took up that information and my parents and I flew down to Puerto Rico in 2018. We talked with the Winter Federation about what their goals were and trying to get more representation to try to build it up. I basically was like, ‘I'm down to drop everything and move to the island and live here and represent in the most authentic way I know I can.’ I've been here eight years now and it's crazy that the time went by so fast, but I've been enjoying every second of it.

Q: What was it like to be the flag bearer for Puerto Rico at the opening ceremonies?

A: It's special to be the flag bearer and to be representing Puerto Rico [at the Winter Olympics] because, being a Caribbean island, winter sports just really aren’t a thing for them. I think when kids are watching, it's like I prove that you can be in places that people tell you that you're not supposed to be in, right? I want to create these dreams and these hopes for kids. Like, ‘Oh wow, I never thought about pursuing winter sports, but here she is, she's doing it. Maybe I can actually pursue that, too.’ You don't have to live in the winter [climate] to do winter sports.

Q: Is there any significance to the art design on your helmet of the flower with the eyeball in it?

A: It definitely represents the third eye for sure, guiding me. And then the flowers on the side are the same colors of the chakra. There's a little bit of symbolism there, but also I just like beautiful artwork. My sled artwork was really beautiful as well. It's just you don't really see the bottom of the sled so much as you do the helmet. At the bottom of my pod, it has the same eye that you see on my helmet, but inside the eye, it's looking at the Puerto Rico island from space, which is really cool. And then it has a really big, red hibiscus flower over it since that's the national flower here.

Q: How did you end up doing pole vault at UNT?

A: It was actually a funny story. I went to school, not too far from Denton, in Collinsville and I honestly didn't have any idea I was going to be doing sports in college. Obviously, I wanted to do sports, but being in a small school, you don't really get recruited to things like that. It's hard. I remember it was in the very beginning, right before classes were starting and everybody's moving into their dorms and stuff. I had already tried out for cheer at this point and me and my roommate didn't make it. So, we're like, ‘I guess we'll take our losses and move on.’

But then I told my friend, ‘Hey, they're having track tryouts. Would you like to go with me?’ And she's like, ‘Are you just going to try out for everything until you make something?’ And I was like, ‘Well, that could be the plan. I mean, why not try?’ I showed up to the track walk-on tryouts and it’s like what you see in the NFL combine. They're testing a bunch of different things and they're scoring you based on that. Luckily, I had performed really well and they decided to pick me.

As a walk-on, it’s definitely weird territory because you feel like you have to earn your spot and you're scared. You're like, ‘Oh my God, am I like on probation? Are they going to kick me off?’ It's a weird feeling being a freshman and a walk-on, but luckily it all went well. And then at an outdoor conference I had tied the school record for pole vault and then they gave me a scholarship. So, I ended up doing really well and it was nice to prove myself. It was a really good time for me.

Q: When you think back to your time at UNT, what buildings do you go back to in your mind?

A: My first dorm in Kerr Hall. I was in B Hall in 428B. I remember I went to Home Depot or Lowe's or something and got some scrap carpet and I was like, ‘We're going to make this place the best dorm ever.’ And we did! Honestly, I probably had more fun up in Kerr Hall than I did when you move into apartments because there's just so much craziness going on in a dorm room your freshman year. I think everybody should live on campus at least one year because that's where everything happens and I definitely loved Kerr Hall. It has a place in my heart.