Tricia Mangan is a 2015 graduate of Nardin Academy in Buffalo, a biomedical engineering major at Dartmouth, and now a U.S. Olympian.
Mangan got the call on February 5 that she was being called up to compete for the U.S. in South Korea, filling in for an injured teammate. The alpine skier has been on the mountain since she was two years old, and will now compete on the world's biggest stage.
Mangan's teachers at Nardin aren't surprised their graduate has reached this level.
"[Her future is] anything she wants - anything she wants to make it," her guidance counselor Jane Mathias said. "She will succeed. It really doesn't matter what it is she wants, she is going to succeed."
Her cousin Sofia Ruh is a junior at Nardin. She says her family has always been behind Tricia's dream. Sofia follows her cousin through the mountains of the world on Tricia's Instagram, and says Tricia's accomplishments are incredible.
"We all have her back and we all support her," Sofia said. "She's really been an inspiration to a lot of us."
Her teachers say she embodies the spirit and drive of a U.S. Olympian, and they're proud she's been chosen to represent the United States.
"She represents everything good about this country," Jane Mathias said. "She represents the work ethic, she represents the character, she represents the drive to succeed. She's an outstanding model of what a young American should be."
Mangan will compete in alpine skiing at the Games. The Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea starts Friday, February 9 at 6 a.m. EST.
