PROFILE

Name · Angela Yuka Maxwell

Nicknames · Ange or Angie

Birthday · July 28, 1992

Hometown · Hurst, Texas

Training Town · Hackensack, N.J.

Home Club · Skating Club of New York

Coach · Olga Orlova and Craig Maurizi

Choreographers · Olga Orlova

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Maxwell started figure skating when she was 6-years-old because it looked like fun. More than 10 years after stepping on to the ice for the first time, the teenager from Hurst, Texas, is having a blast as one the rising stars on the American skating scene.

Maxwell, who participated in the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Program, made her senior debut at the 2009 U.S. Championships in Cleveland, finishing an impressive eighth place. She also won the silver medal in the junior ladies event at 2008 nationals.

The most defining moment in her career has been the 2007 U.S. Championships. After winning the gold medal in the novice ladies competition, Maxwell was invited to participate in the exhibition of champions.

Maxwell has represented the country at several international competitions since making her debut as a novice at the International Challenge Cup, which she won. She made her Junior Grand Prix debut by winning the bronze medal at 2007 JGP Lake Placid and has since won three other medals.

Maxwell currently trains with Olga Orlova, who serves as both her coach and choreographer, in Hackensack, N.J. She previously worked with coaches Natalia Mishkutionok and Robin Wagner. Her previous choreographers include Evgueni Nemirovskii and Nick Traxler.

One of her fondest memories in the sport came just a few years after starting.

"Michael Weiss came to Dallas for the skate show when I was nine, and he did a backflip that amazed everyone," Maxwell said. "I told Michael Weiss that someday I was going to flip on ice too. Two week after that, I trained and landed it ever since. Six years later, I became a recipient of Michael Weiss Foundation scholarships."

When she is finished with her skating career, she would like to go to college and become a forensic scientist. Maxwell is also interested in animals and supports any cause that tries to help them. "When I was younger my mom and I would save animals and raise them," she said.

Her hobbies include listening to her iPod, cutting her own music, playing video games, hanging out with her friends and playing with her pets. " I love to dance and sing, but I'm usually too shy to do it in front of people," Maxwell said.

Maxwell, who is half Japanese, also explores her culture in her free time. "Meeting the Japanese team and training gave me a sense of my heritage," she said. "I am learning Japanese by watching Japanese TV and speaking it more often."

QUICK FACTS

· I like video games such as Call of Duty 4, Gears of War and Left for Dead.

· I love learning foreign languages.

· I have an open mind about music and listen to various genres.

· I enjoy cooking.

· I like collecting cute, unique things like furry keychains and jewlery.