Skiing has always been a part of freshman Lena Fulton-Wright’s life. Her grandmother got her hooked on the sport. She now not only skis for fun, but is also on the Massanutten ski team and works part-time at Massanutten as an assistant ski instructor. 

Fulton-Wright’s grandma has skied since she was young. She taught herself how to ski and then taught Lena at the age of five. 

“[I am passionate about] skiing. My grandma taught me how to ski when I was five,” Fulton-Wright said.

Fulton-Wright has always been inspired by her grandmother. She was her support system for the majority of her life.

“My grandma installed this love for skiing in me. She was also a person I could talk to about anything, which was really helpful,” Fulton-Wright said.

To ski, you must have the necessary equipment. You can always rent it from Massanutten, but Fulton-Wright owns the equipment because of how often she goes skiing. 

“You need a lot [of equipment]. Most of it you can rent at Massanutten, but you need ski pants, a coat, boots, skis, poles, a helmet goggles and then whatever you need to keep you warm. It’s kind of a lot,” Fulton-Wright said. 

She is also on the ski team for Massanutten. Her grandma found the team and told her about it. She doesn’t go to practices often but when she does, it’s a lot of fun. 

“[Being on the ski team is] a lot of work, I’m not very good, but I’m trying [to get better]. Last year was my first year, my grandma found out about it and then she kind of forced me to do it. But, I ended up having fun so it was kind of a win-win. I only go to one to two practices a week. You ski the whole time. I don’t think there’s anyone else from HHS on it,” Fulton-Wright said.

Fulton-Wright is not only on the ski team, but she also works part-time at Massanutten. 

“It’s a lot of fun, it’s a lot of work because I worked almost everyday over winter break but it was really worth it. [I make] $9.25 an hour and it’s [usually] like five hours, so it’s pretty good,” Fulton-Wright said. 

In her family, her dad and brother also ski. Her brother’s name is Van and he is 13. 

“My dad and brother [ski], but my mom doesn’t because she’s too scared,” Fulton-Wright said. 

So far, she has not had any major injuries in skiing. She definitely falls down every once in a while, but she is getting much better because of all the practice she gets. 

“I was going down [the slope] the other day and I saw this big jump and then I hit it and I [fell] and hit my head,” Fulton-Wright said. 

Other than skiing, Fulton-Wright is also in marching band. It started during the summer so it was a good way for her to get into the school year and meet new people. 

“I met a lot of new friends [in marching band], especially upperclassmen friends. So that’s nice,” Fulton-Wright said.  

She also has a passion for traveling. She spent a semester in Spain two years ago and went to Costa Rica on a school trip last summer. 

“Yes, I do [like traveling]. [I have gone to] Mexico, Bosnia, Croatia, Turkey, Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Morocco, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. I like traveling because there’s a lot of really pretty places and I like to see them. [I spent a semester in Spain and I went to Costa Rica during the summer as well]. I had so much fun. I would love to do that again. It was great,” Fulton-Wright said.

Fulton-Wright hopes to go into the medical field in the future to be able to make a difference in people’s lives. 

“I really want to be an O.B.G.Y.N. or a surgeon. I think the medical field is really interesting and I think it would be cool to be able to save people’s lives,” Fulton-Wright said. 

Other than a younger brother, Fulton-Wright also has two big dogs at home. She has had Osa for a while, but she recently got Bart. 

“Yes, I have two dogs, they’re really big. One’s name is Osa and then the other one’s name is Bart. I didn’t name them, we got them from my great aunt who has a kennel. She takes care of dogs,” Fulton-Wright said. 

Fulton-Wright is a freshman, she went to Skyline for middle school. High school was a big change for her, but she’s been having fun. 

“It’s pretty good, I’m having a good time. There’s more people [than in middle school] and you have classes with other grades I guess, that’s really [all that’s different],” Fulton-Wright said.