COLUMBUS - A Columbus figure skater almost said goodbye to her skates, but a gig performing aboard a cruise ship convinced her otherwise.  

Taylor Galonski has not looked back since. 

Figure skating is all she’s ever known, even as a little girl. 

“I was told that I loved being out there, and I would beg to stay and jump around and learn,” Galonski said. “Eventually I talked my mom into private lessons and so on and so forth.” 

Now, at 28, Galonski skates professionally. 

Though it was always her first love, it did not come easy. An injury took her out for close to a year. Being 17-years-old at the time, Galonski had plans to hang up her skates for good.

“I had done competitive skating for 14 years, which was a long time, and I thought maybe I wanted to put it behind me and live a normal life,” Galonski said. 

She decided to give skating one more spin- not competitively anymore but to perform on cruise lines. 

“I had a friend that worked for this cruise line and he did shows, and I was like ‘I’ll send in my application and see what happens,’” Galonski said.

It’s been 10 years since she accepted the job working for Royal Caribbean Cruises, and she’s never been happier.  

She’s skated in France, Spain, Australia and so many other places she never thought she would go, much less explore.

“I’ve done such cool things that I could never have done without this job,” Galonksi said. “I’ve been dog sledding in Alaska. I’ve been skydiving in the Bahamas. I’ve gone on all kinds of hikes in national forests… a lot of cool things.” 

She will return to the ice soon enough, but this time in Niagara Falls.