When the skaters take to the ice in Sochi, Russia, this February, Jodi Abbott, '93 MEd, '96 PhD, will have the best seat in the house. She is one of the international judges who will be scoring skaters at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Abbott was a figure skater growing up in Edson, Alta. She got into judging when she was 16 at her mother's urging - it was a way to give back all the volunteer support Abbott had received as an athlete. She eventually worked her way up to accreditation as an International Skating Union judge.
She says the lessons she has learned as a skating judge apply well to her demanding day job as president and CEO of Edmonton-based NorQuest College.
"In skating, all the technical elements get a score on their own. You look at every piece and assess it against a standard - you do it really quickly," she explains. "But when you get to the program component scores, you're actually looking at the whole picture. You've had all of these elements happen, but you're looking at how they all connect together to create the overall program."
That is exactly what she does in her role as president and CEO, says Abbott, who was awarded a U of A Alumni Honour Award in 2013.
"As a leader, I have to look at every area of my organization and how it's operating, but I also have to always be aware of the big picture. Right now, a lot is changing in post-secondary. I have to know where NorQuest College fits into that. But we also have to have the bigger picture and ask where it's going."
At this year's Olympics, figure-skating competitions are scheduled to begin Feb. 8 with the ice dance programs and end with the women's free skate Feb. 20.
Watch for more on Jodi Abbott in an upcoming issue of e-Trail, which brings fresh articles to your inbox every month.
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