When Emma Miskew is not at the curling rink she’s working as a project manager at the Senate or spending some spare time making cards or Christmas ornaments.
The fact that Carleton grad has time for anything but curling may come as a surprise to most given her achievements playing the third for Team Homan, the winning Ottawa-based rink that plays out of the Ottawa Curling Club.
Since 2002, the team has been racking up achievements every year, having just won the prestigious Scotties Tournament of Hearts for the second consecutive time. They also won bronze at the 2013 World Women’s Curling Championships, and came short of qualifying for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
Miskew recalls that while in Montreal for the 2014 Scotties, the team didn’t have much spare time but she managed to make a TV debut as CTV Montreal’s Celebrity Weather reporter.
Despite having to use a TelePrompTer for the first time, Miskew remained composed as she delivered a mild weather forecast for that week.
“I’m pretty sure I was the most awkward weather person,” she says. “I was pretty nervous but it was a lot of fun.”
She has been curling for about 20 years and says it’s a major part of her life. Her father got her into the sport and her mother has been as equally supportive. They have attended most of the rink’s competitions and they will be there watching Team Homan compete the World Championships in April in Saint John, N.B.
The veteran curler admits since curling has been such a big part of her life for so long, she can’t imagine what it would be like to stop competing.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever curl recreationally,” says Miskew. “It would be hard to go from the training I do now, to playing for fun. Without putting the work in, I would probably lose a lot and as a competitive person, I wouldn’t enjoy that much.”
Although Team Homan didn’t qualify for the 2014 winter Olympics, she’s not discouraged; she hasn’t given up the dream of representing Canada. If she doesn’t make the national team in 2018, she’ll try again.
But for now, her focus is on her job at the Senate and staying in shape for the final competitions of this season.
Her job as a project manager at the Senate allows her to use her skills as both an interior and industrial designer, creating products that improve the functionality of the Senate’s space and its interior design.
“I like the work I do,” says Miskew. “It changes all the time too, which is really nice. They are also super understanding and supportive of the time off I need in order to curl.”
Daily, Miskew attends a two-hour practice over the lunch hour at the Ottawa Curling Club. She makes up the extra time at the end of her day to compensate for the times she takes at lunch. As part of her daily routine, she goes home after work, has dinner and then heads to the gym for some additional training time.
She has fond memories of her time as a student at Carleton. She graduated in 2012 with a BA in industrial design and minor in psychology.
“I truthfully miss being on campus,” confesses Miskew. “It’s a great school and my program was amazing.”
Her mother introduced her to the program when she was in high school. Miskew thought it was a perfect fit because it combined her long-time interest in art and drawing, and her ability to analyze products and figure out how they can be improved.
“I really enjoyed the program and although intense, I managed to graduate while keeping up with training in curling,” says Miskew. “Almost every professor was encouraging and understanding when I needed to change exams or deadlines due to competitions. I have always been thankful for that.”
Hard work has definitely paid off for Miskew. Her efforts have resulted in multiple championship titles in women’s curling, a full-time job at Senate and a BA in industrial design from Carleton.
“It’s very challenging to fit everything in,” admits Miskew. “But in my early schooling, I was able to learn to balance my time. It has never been easy and I have made a lot of sacrifices.
But it has definitely been worth it.”
