The world of competitive snowboarding may be unfamiliar to most Penn Staters, but for junior Kaiya Kizuka, it’s something she has been involved with for most of her life. The Sinking Springs, Pa. native traveled to Slovenia recently to compete in the 2021 FIS Snowboard World Championships in the parallel slalom and giant slalom events in which she placed 40th and 45th, respectively. Kizuka has competed internationally at competitions before, and her sights are still set on qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics. We sat down with the Penn State Berks mechanical engineering major to discuss her snowboarding accomplishments as well as her college experience.