Melissa Ralph

[Gary Cochran]

Melissa Ralph, 2002 National Junior Dance silver medallist, will soon be leaving the Detroit Skating Club to attend Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. She intends to pursue a higher education in Public Policy or Law.

Melissa will always love the time she spent in figure skating and ice dancing, but believes it’s now time to move into the next phase of her life. She hopes to continue skating for the love of it, and plans to coach ice dancing at a nearby rink. She will review her competitive options if a special partner becomes available.

I’m proud to be Melissa Ralph’s grandfather, and I’ve enjoyed watching her grow into a wonderful, thoughtful, kind, and talented woman. Skating was such an integral part of her life that I often thought she slept with skates next to her bed. When I watched her glide across the ice she was beauty in motion. But, I also felt that life for her could be more than a cold rink, hot coffee, and travel. I believe that she carefully considered the risks and rewards of different life paths, including a career in ice dance, and the path she has chosen is most likely to lead her to happiness. What more could a grandfather want?

A recent book I read said that a family should give their child roots and wings. Melissa has roots, and now she’s spreading her wings to fly. When she’s being buffeted by the winds of life, I hope she can always find a nice ice rink to rest, skate, and remember the good times of her childhood.

-Gary

[Trillian]

Thanks for the update on Melissa! A lot of us were wondering how she was doing these days. :) I'm glad to hear she's made such a carefully considered decision about her future, and I'm sure she'll have a blast in college.

[dr.frog]

Wow, good for Melissa. It always pleases me to hear of skaters who are mindful of the fact that there really is Life After Skating. :)

[jkl]

Gary,
Thanks so much for the update. Melissa is a beautiful skater but a much more beautiful person. I wish her much happiness in life.

[WeBeEducated]

I am sure she spent a great deal of time in making that decision.
It is inspiring to know that a girl with so much talent in skating is also a kind, thoughtful, and motivated young woman with meaningful off ice goals.
I wish her the best of luck.

[FSWer]

Any pictures of her?

[SkateGuard]

Gary, thank you for all your updates--and your opinions--on skatingforums (and FSW, I believe) during Melissa's career. I hope you continue to stop by even though she is no longer skating competitively.

Best Wishes to Melissa! Pepperdine is an excellent school, and I hope her college experience is enjoyable and rewarding.

And don't think those hours in the rink didn't pay off...coaching can pay for lots of lattes and pizzas! (At least that's what I tell parents who ask about the costs of skating....:D )

Erin

[Sylvia]

Thanks for posting, Gary, and best wishes to Melissa in college, coaching, and wherever else her wings may take her! :)

[butterfly]

Congratulations Melissa for making such a mature decision. You are one lucky girl. It sounds like your grandfather loves you very much. How lucky can a girl be to be going to Malibu and getting an education at the same time. Have fun!

[adrianchew]

Posted on behalf of Gary Cochran...

[adrianchew]

Posted on behalf of Gary Cochran....

[FSWer]

Buetiful pictures of Melissa.

[butterfly]

Great pictures....what a beautiful girl.

[Smiley0084]

She's beautiful, and she's a lovely skater as well. I wish her the best at Pepperdine :) It's a great school :)

[FSWer]

What's the link to her fan page?

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by FSWer
What's the link to her fan page?

She doesn't have a fan page now because she's decided to stop competing in dance (but her grandfather used to run a very nice site for her!). Thanks for sharing those latest photos, Gary! :)

[FSWer]

What's she doing now? Does she coach?

[Sylvia]

FSWer, just go back and re-read the first post of this thread.

[Moto Guzzi]

Gary, thanks for posting such a lovely message about Melissa. She is a lucky girl to have such a loving grandfather. Best wishes to her as she spreads her wings and begins the next stage of her life.

[sk8pairsmom]

Wow what a pretty girl. She's grown up so much. I haven't seen her since she skated in Simsbury with my daughter Katie O. That was many years ago when they were both doing singles. Good luck to her!:D

[Gary Cochran]

Originally posted by Gary Cochran
What a trip! Melissa decided to take her little car (Honda Del Sol) to California, and we were due to leave on Friday, August 15. I was to drive with her to Denver, and her mother, who had to work on Saturday and Sunday, would fly to Denver on Sunday, and finish the trip to California. On Thursday, about 4:15 pm, the infamous North East Power Outage hit. By Friday morning we knew we had problems. Melissa had not filled up her car on Thursday and was almost out of gas. We had to drive west in Michigan about 75 miles in order to fill up. A neighbor and I each put lawnmower gas into her car and off we went. Although we were on fumes, we made it to Jackson MI, and got gas. We drove 270 miles the first day, expecting to travel at least 500 miles. But, we were on our way.

We reached Denver on the appointed day, and her mother took over. As of right now, Tuesday night at about 8:55pm Eastern time, they're stuck in a traffic jam just over the border in California from Nevada, caused by an 18 wheeler turnover followed by a 10 car pileup. But, they have enough gas, and will just ride out the delay.

At Malibu, Melissa will be just a few minutes away from Themi Lefteris, her former pairs partner from a lifetime ago, and is looking forward to skating at the local rinks.

-Gary

[Mayra]

Good luck to Melissa at Pepperdine. You couldn't ask for a more gorgeous location.

8-)

[FSWer]

Any pictures of her in her skating days?

[Dolly]

http://www.ice-dance.com/profiles/ralph.htm

[butterfly]

http://www.usfsa.org/uschamp02/harvpics/jrdance-orig.htm

http://www.usfsa.org/uschamp02/harvpics/jrdance-free.htm

[IgglesII]

Originally posted by Gary Cochran
At Malibu, Melissa will be just a few minutes away from Themi Lefteris, her former pairs partner from a lifetime ago, and is looking forward to skating at the local rinks.

-Gary

Of course, to some of us, 5 years isn't that long ago.

[Gary Cochran]

Originally posted by IgglesII
Of course, to some of us, 5 years isn't that long ago. Bill Clinton was President, the stock market was rocketing upward, dot.com was all the rage, 09/11 hadn't happened, Afganistan and Iraq were just annoyances, and the great North East power outage was imaginary.

Tara Lipinski was the Olympic gold medalist, Sarah Hughes was just learning her triples, Michelle Kwan was struggling to get her groove back, Punsalan and Swallow were National Dance Champions, and Todd Eldridge was National Men's Champion. Wonder how many 14 or 15 year old skaters would even know these facts?

Ask Brandon or Emilie, or Garrett how long ago they all skated together with Melissa at Simsbury, on the ice with Victor and Oksana. Gosh, time really does pass fast!:lol:

-Gary