Jordan Renee Brown
Ice Skater. Pianist. Changemaker.

I’m Jordan Renee Brown, a Girl Scout pursuing my Gold Award by combining my passions for ice skating and piano.

Through my project "Break Through," I’m sharing highlights of my performances to inspire and introduce these art forms to underrepresented communities. My goals are to bring awareness to stereotypes about what hobbies certain people should/shouldn't do and to motivate people to break out of their comfort zones and embrace their passions. I’m dedicated to using my talents to create opportunities for kids and make a meaningful impact.

My Journey and
My Purpose

Exploring underrepresentation in unique sports and hobbies

For my whole life, I have been a part of the figure skating community. I looked different from most skaters and, in competitions, my results were often because of these differences. I was the only African American on my team for a while, and people who looked like me often left because they felt they would never be able to progress in the sport. Our passions may have been the same, but it was tough to be motivated when it felt like no one was rooting for you. However, my coaches pushed me to be the best they knew I could be, which taught me perseverance, self-discipline, and determination.

I want children to understand what it means to pursue a passion, no matter what. We should not let the opinions of others change our love for our sport or hobby. I want to bring awareness to a sport that is often overlooked as a sport for "certain people". Figure skating is for everyone, and I see this in my rink and in the stereotypes I have beaten by sticking with skating all this time.

I hope to encourage people who are already figure skating today and people who feel out of place in their passions. I don't want anyone to have to give up what they love to do, as I've seen so many do. I want to share the experience and tips I have learned throughout my skating and piano career—and with this, I hope to inspire children to try new things and, if they enjoy them, to stick with it.

The Break Through Project

There are many societal and ethical issues in the sports industry. From big issues, like letting football players with numerous concussions continue playing the game—to smaller issues, like not feeling encouraged to continue in a sport.

Underrepresentation in sports and music can be caused by:

Lack of support systems: not seeing people like you, feels like people don’t believe in you
No awareness: no outreach to underrepresented communities, no proof that “(people who look like you) can do it too”
Lack of affordable resources: figure skating resources aren’t affordable or classes/lessons aren’t affordable
Racism/discrimination: judges biased towards looks over skills, skaters treat others differently

My Gold Award project aims to address these issues by encouraging kids in underrepresented communities not to be afraid to try new things and stand out. You build character from unique experiences, but growth is limited when we only allow ourselves access to a non-diverse variety of activities.

Through my website, ice show, and piano, I hope to teach kids that, even when you look different from other people, it's okay because you can still shine doing what you love. Being a student athlete or musician is hard as it is, but it gets easier knowing that you have a support system or people who are rooting for you.

“Self-mastery represents the degree to which you are capable of aligning with your own ideals. In other words, it is your ability to become a great individual and live a great life – by your own standards”

—Ryan J. Bush, Designing the Mind: The Principles of Psychitechture

My Life on the Ice

Here are highlights from my artistic figure skating, featuring practice footage, solo performances, and a special display of hula hoop tricks at the 2023 Winter Classic.