ICING HER DREAMS

BY MICHAEL RICHMOND
Contributing Editor

PHOTOS BY COLLEEN CUMMINS

Like most college students, Paulette Bleam has exams and assignments to worry about. But most college students cannot say they are an accomplished figure skater. Bleam can.

She can also say that she’s a double-gold medalist in ice dancing, and if she were competing right now she could be the fifth-ranked skater nationwide.

Bleam started skating at seven years old, but says that figure skating has been a lifelong passion for as long as she can remember. “My parents were like ‘it’s just a phase, she’ll grow out of it,’” Bleam says of her parents’ initial response to her wanting to be a figure skater. “But they were totally supportive of me.”

Though she began skating for recreational purposes, Bleam soon found herself in the competitive realm of figure skating. She competed in numerous events, including the Junior Olympics.

Two years ago she moved from her native Pennsylvania to San Jose to train for competition. Unfortunately, her partner quit and left her with the daunting task of finding another.

“There are a lot more female skaters than there are males,” she said. “It’s really difficult to find someone who is good and someone who I have the right chemistry with.”

She could “buy” a partner, but that is an uncomfortable and expensive situation that she does not want to be involved in.

“A lot of the best skaters are Russian. So some people will get a Russian partner, and pay for their housing expenses and things like that,” Bleam said. “But I think having chemistry is also important, and having a talented partner isn’t enough.”

Though she no longer competes, Bleam is still skating. She also enjoys working as a coach, teaching both kids and adults. She especially likes teaching adults because “they aren’t expecting to go out and win any competitions.” She also skates in exhibition shows.

While her idols are skaters that most of us know — like Scott Hamilton, Debbie Thomas, and Kristi Yamaguchi — Bleam also idolizes her coaches. She describes Ron Ludington, her first coach, as “one of the best coaches in the world.” “He would be sitting somewhere off to the sides, wouldn’t ever step onto the ice, but he would always know what he’s talking about,” Bleam said fondly.

Bleam’s other coaches, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, are the opposite of Houston. “They were always on the ice,” she said. “They wouldn't just tell you how to do something, they would actually show you how it's done.”

Klimova and Ponomarenko are Bleam's ice dancing coaches, and they are also former Olympic champions. They also inspired Bleam to learn Russian. “I had taken Russian before so I could know what they were saying about me,” Bleam said. “I wanted to be like 'hey, I know what you said,' but Russian is a tough language to learn. I used to be good at the accent, though.”

Bleam is quick to defend her sport from the “tights and tutu” notion that most people have of it. “It's a tough sport, and there is a lot of work that goes into it,” she said.

Bleam says that qualifying to compete is tough. A skater must go through a series of tests to get a gold medal, similar to the belt ranking system of some martial arts, before they can compete.

Though it is physically demanding and expensive (her parents spent $20,000 a year on skating, including $1,000 for custom skates), Bleam says figure skating has taught her a lot about herself and it has helped her mature into the person she is today.

Bleam thinks her skating experience has been beneficial to her in other ways.

“I've had to juggle school and skating for most of my life, so I think that helped me with reaching my goals,” she said. “I think skating has helped in making me more active and goal-oriented.”

Paulette Bleam is currently a news editor on The Guardsman staff.

PROFILE: Skip Fotch, Associate Dean of Student Activities

BY HALIE JOHNSON
Associate News Editor

HALIE JOHNSON / GUARDSMAN

Associate Dean of Student Activities seems a dry and stodgy title for C.H. Fotch, the bespectacled man wearing a brightly colored neck tie and a warm smile. His students and coworkers just call him “Skip.”

Fotch wears many hats. In addition to his 26-year career as a college administrator, he has been a leadership teacher, a priest at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ross, Calif., and also “he’s a professional clown,” his secretary Marsha Shelton said in a burst of laughter. “Try finding another administrator who has done that.”

Fotch taught clowning in Florida, where he also started the Courtly Jesters Club. He can juggle, eat fire and make balloon sculptures.

Humor and storytelling are his favorite mediums of communication.

“He’s got a story and a joke for everything,” said Laura Galicha, one of Fotch’s students.

“The gift of humor is a critical part of our lives that we forget sometimes,” Fotch said. A phrase came to his mind from a book by Conrad Hires: “Faith without laughter leads to self-righteousness and dogmatism, laughter without faith leads to cynicism and despair.”

Church is where he met Sheila, his wife of 13 years. “It took me two and a half years to ask her out,” Fotch said. They have four children and five grandchildren, all of whom enjoy “Grandpa the clown.”

On campus, Fotch likes going to the cafeteria, where he can meet students he doesn’t normally encounter. He can also be found at the information booth early each semester helping students navigate through the administrative process.

Fotch works with the Associated Students (A.S.) and the clubs on all campuses. He also teaches a class called Leadership Skills.

He believes in the cooperative learning process. “My learning curve is possibly as high as my students’,” he said.

Besides school, ministry, and clowning he sings in his church choir, reads murder mysteries, goes golfing and spends time with friends and family talking and laughing.