Q: How did you get started in figure skating?
PERCIAVALLE: I’ve been skating pretty much my whole life. My mom’s a coach, so she got me into it when I was really little, and I just fell in love with it. I’ve been on the ice since I was little, and competing since I was probably around 7 or 8. I love it.

Q: What is the organization that you compete in? 
PERCIAVALLE: When you’re pre-collegiate, you compete underneath a club, which is a part of United States Figure Skating. Once you come to college, you compete on behalf of your school. So I represent Penn State.

Q: And you have five gold medals?
PERCIAVALLE: Yes. I earned all five of them during my high school years, and so because of that, I received the United States Figure Skating Senior Platinum Level Award, which was really special for me.

Q: And they were national competitions?
PERCIAVALLE: The gold medals come from taking a series of tests. You’re tested based on your skills in specific disciplines, and so I mastered all of the tests for each of the five disciplines.

Q: What does a week of practice look like for you?
PERCIAVALLE: Since being in college, it’s been kind of hard to balance the school and skating life, but typically I’ll go to my skating in the morning, and then I’ll have classes in the afternoon, or vice versa, and find that balance between on-ice and off-ice training, and also staying on top of my schoolwork.

Q: Do you have a coach? 
PERCIAVALLE: So it’s funny you mention that. Right now we don’t have a coach, so we all just help each other and build upon each other and our skills there. But I have a couple coaches back home that I’ll touch base with, and then when I go back home for breaks, I’ll work with them in person, which is really nice too.

Q: Who were your figure skating heroes when you were younger?
PERCIAVALLE: Oh, goodness. I’d say the biggest one would be my mom, because she got me into the sport, and she’s inspired me so much. I’d also say my coaches, and then, as for professional figure skaters, I’d say Ashley Cain and Mariah Bell. Those are my two all-time favorites. I’ve gotten to work with them before, which has been so fun, and they’re really, really sweet, and such amazing skaters. Very inspiring.

Q: You’re double majoring in biomedical engineering and Spanish. Tell me about how you chose those.
PERCIAVALLE: So, I’m still kind of feeling out the biomedical engineering. I want to do something related to sports rehab, recovery, maybe PT, OT, anything like athlete training and wellness would really be up my alley, so kind of feeling out what I can do with that. As for the Spanish, I’m fully fluent. I live in Texas, so I grew up doing a Spanish immersion program; from first grade on, everything I learned in school was fully in Spanish instead of English. I want to kind of keep up with that while I’m in college, and I felt like having it as a second major would be the best way to do that.

Q: What’s been your favorite class at Penn State so far?
PERCIAVALLE: That’s a tough one. I honestly love my Spanish classes. They’re really fun. I love the community; it’s a smaller class, so the teacher really gets to know us one-on-one, and we get to kind of have that closer connection.

Q: Favorite musical artist?
PERCIAVALLE: I’d probably say Adele. I love Adele.

Q: Favorite meal?
PERCIAVALLE: I’m Italian, so any Italian food I really like. Growing up, every year, my sister and dad and I would make gnocchi, so that kind of always brings back memories.

Q: What’s something about you that would surprise most people?
PERCIAVALLE: I would say the fact that I’m fluent in Spanish. Also, that I live in Texas and go to Penn State. That tends to be a surprise to people.

Q: What did bring you to Penn State from Texas?
PERCIAVALLE: I’m, a part of the Millennium Scholars Program here. I had the opportunity to come on that scholarship, and it was hard to pass up. It’s a really great program, and I love it up here. And then the skating program also was really attractive to me, and just the school in general, the academics, all of it.

Q: Any pet peeves?
PERCIAVALLE: Being disorganized. I’m always on time, very prepared. I like to plan things out, like, way in advance, so I guess just staying on top of things. I like being organized.