Scholar Stories: Wang's Unconventional Journey Leads to U-M Golf, Business Aspirations
3/25/2026 5:17:00 PM | Women's Golf
Continuing the series that began in 2016-17, each week MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories.
By Samantha Michaels
Grace Wang always envisioned her college experience centered around pursuing a business degree. She just never expected a Division I golf career to be part of that plan. However, her unconventional path to the University of Michigan women's golf team has provided the junior business student with an opportunity to achieve both.
Before she discovered her passion for the golf course, Wang grew up on the figure skating rink. Starting at the age of 5, Wang's primary athletic pursuit was becoming a competitive figure skater, spending hours before and after school on the ice to perfect her craft. As she grew, so did her comfort level and talent within the sport, until she reached the pinnacle of her career in 2019 when she placed fourth at the U.S. Figure Skating Regionals to advance to sectionals.
Despite her success on the ice, Wang was at a crossroads in her figure skating career before entering high school. The sport began to take a physical and mental toll on her, and she recognized the limited opportunities to continue skating in college and beyond. After having difficult conversations with her parents, Wang was encouraged to pivot to golf, partially because of the parallels between the sport and her future career aspirations.
"My parents have known I have always wanted to go into business," said Wang. "My dad has always been a golf guy and [mentioned that] business and golf go well together."
Before making the decision to switch course, Wang enrolled in golf lessons to test out her new potential sport. She recalls the positive feedback she received that made her feel more confident during the transition
"I would go to one or two lessons and the coaches would be like, 'You have an amazing swing' and 'You could have great potential to be a great golfer if you work on it,' and that kind of gave me hope," Wang said.
Despite positive reinforcement from coaches and her parents, watching her best friends continue to skate while Wang felt conflicted about her own relationship with golf proved difficult.
"It was a big transition. I think golf and skating are similar in a way where they are independent sports, but it is just a huge shift going into a brand new sport and having to start from the beginning again," she said.
However, Wang continued to lean on her parents for guidance and sought immense comfort from her dad, who accompanied her to every high school tournament.
After almost a decade of competing in a winter sport, Wang was forced to adjust to the strict summer schedule of golf. Her high school summers were spent traveling from one tournament to the next as Wang sought to gain as much experience and practice as possible to make up for her late start in the sport.
The frequent trips and her consistent training regimen paid off as Wang led Rochester Adams High to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division I state championship in 2022, when she finished third individually (72-77/149) and earned a spot on the All-State Super Team. When the time came to pursue collegiate offers, she was excited to land at U-M because the school could accommodate both her academic and athletic interests.
Although her journey to golf was filled with many twists and turns, Wang could rely on the consistent path that business provided. After learning about an emerging nonprofit initiative from the Michigan Youth Empowerment Foundation, Wang's mother quickly enrolled her in the curriculum. Wang recounted going through an interview process for the program in sixth grade and the excitement she felt after accepting a position on the marketing team. Gaining her first taste of the business world, she learned fundamental skills, such as designing branding elements and a business plan for a company of her team's choosing. Wang continued in this program through high school, crediting MYE for her desire to pursue her studies at the Ross School of Business.
Wang's offer from Michigan provided the perfect opportunity to pursue both of her passions. Despite a clear path coming into focus, transitioning from junior to collegiate golf presented its own set of challenges.
"It was a big adjustment. In junior golf, you're one of the top ones out there, and then coming to college, everyone is the same level as you are," Wang said.
Despite this, she began to settle into her spot on the team, making her collegiate debut and first start in early September at the Mary Folsom Invitational. A little over a month later, Wang was able to find her footing and recorded her season low of 73 at the Stanford Intercollegiate.
As she acclimated to her collegiate golf career, Wang began searching for other on-campus communities to get involved with. In high school, she served as both a junior liaison and president for the National Honor Society and hoped to find a similar organization to help her community. As soon as she learned about the NCAA's Student Athlete-Advisory Committee, Wang jumped at the opportunity to make an impact.
"I have always loved to join any group or organization. As a student-athlete, it's hard to join Ross clubs because there are a lot of criteria, and it takes up a lot of your time," Wang said. "So when SAAC was mentioned, I was like, this is something I am interested in."
Currently, she serves on the event planning committee, where she helps create meaningful community events for student-athletes each month. Wang takes immense pride in her role, as it combines her desire to support the athletic community with serving as a voice for her team within the organization.
Off campus, Wang has also continued to nurture her passion for business through various internship positions. After deciding not to pursue a professional career in golf, she sought to gain experience in finance, strategy or operations to align with her career aspirations. This past summer, she had the opportunity to intern at Nike as a CRM analyst in its Boston office. She credits her ability to smoothly transition into a workplace environment to her time as a student-athlete.
"I did learn a lot about the working world, but I think being a student-athlete has definitely helped me with that because we know how to manage our time, we know discipline, and [what is] required of us," Wang said.
As an incoming rotational analyst at JPMorgan, she is also excited to continue growing professionally and learning more in a different work environment.
Beyond the discipline that comes with being a student-athlete, Wang also noted that the women's golf team has enriched her life in countless other ways. While reflecting on some of her fondest memories with the Michigan golf team, she found that the simplest moments can mean the most.
"I think my most rewarding experience has been representing the block M with my team wherever we go," Wang said. "My team is basically like my second family, and being able to walk together on the course, at the airport and across campus representing the 'M' just feels so rewarding, and I am super grateful with where I am today."
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Wang has her sights set on winning the Big Ten championship and booking a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. She is also excited by the opportunity to play a few more tournaments alongside the senior class.
"I am just trying to enjoy every moment with them because they have been with me since my freshman year, and I will miss them dearly next year," she said.
As for the rest of her golf career, Wang looks forward to making the most of its remainder while continuing to prepare for her future after the sport. Aspiring to become a C-suite executive at a major company, she is eager to balance her professional ambitions with the networking skills she has gained through golf. With her academic and athletic journeys still unfolding, Wang remains open to wherever her path may lead, whether it continues to evolve like her golf career or follows a more streamlined trajectory like her adoration for business.
"I am just excited for what the future holds for me."
Players Mentioned
