Following her emphatic win on Sunday at KMC Cross Fest, Fred Dreier from VeloNews sat down with Emma to discuss juggling school, cycling and family.
Emma White had planned to quit cycling once she graduated high school. After she won two silver medals at the 2015 junior world road championships, White delayed her retirement until her college years.
Now 20, White has put off those plans indefinitely. Instead, she has committed to one of the most ambitious racing schedules of any American pro cyclist, male or female. During the spring and summer months White races professionally for Rally Cycling, and in the fall and winter she races a full cyclocross season for Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com.
And throughout the year, White also attends Union College, where she studies computer science.
“I always told myself that I’d never let cycling get in the way of school and family and career,” White told VeloNews at the KMC Cyclocross Festival in Thompson, Connecticut. “I said I was going to do this until college and then college came up way too quick. I’m not ready to walk away.”
If college did come up too fast for White, the youngster has found a way to balance the rigors of school and professional racing. She maintains a 3.5 grade point average, despite taking classes called “Data Structures” and “Algorithm Design and Analysis.” White says juggling the two lives comes down to planning and communication. She does not start her road season until late in the spring in order to minimize her need to miss classes. She also reaches out to each professor before registering for a class to inquire if the attendance requirements would derail her racing schedule.
Read the full article at Velonews.
