icenetwork.com

Michelle Kwan has until Sept. 1 to decide if she'd like to compete in the 2009-10 season. (Lois Elfman)

By Lois Elfman, special to icenetwork.com

(10/15/2008) - Looking resplendent in a Ralph Lauren gown, Michelle Kwan walked the red carpet at the Women's Sports Foundation's 29th Annual Salute to Women in Sports. Last year, Kwan, 28, received the Billie Jean King Contribution Award. This year, she was simply present to show her support of an organization that gave her a helping hand before she was a nine-time U.S. ladies champion, five-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist.

"When I was 13, I got a training and travel grant," said Kwan. "So you have to give back, be here and support the organization. It's a yearly function I like to attend. To see Billie Jean and everybody. Come back and support this great foundation."

This past August, Kwan was part of the U.S. Presidential delegation at the Olympics in Beijing. She said being a spectator was fantastic. "I was able to cheer on Nastia [Liukin] and Shawn [Johnson] and all the athletes. I watched women's and men's basketball. I watched water polo. I did everything I wasn't able to do when I was competing," she said.

Liukin was honored as individual sportswoman of the year. She and Johnson were both present at the gala. Also in attendance was the U.S. women's softball team, and Jessica Mendoza was named team sportswoman of the year.

After her quick trip to New York, Kwan heads back to Denver, Colorado, where she is finishing up her undergraduate education at the University of Denver. She's studying political science and international studies and said she's close to earning her Bachelor's Degree (when asked if she'd be done in the spring, she said, "sooner" with a wink).

She's doing some skating, but her number one priority is finishing school.

"College has been exactly how I imagined it," Kwan said. "I have a great group of friends. I love Denver and I've had a really good experience. You always say you want to drop everything and focus on school. I really did that. I made it my priority."

She admitted her first quarter was tough, trying to find her identity as a student. A huge turning point was simply spending time in the library. Although she'd taken classes off and on for years at UCLA, she'd never really had the time to just sit in the library.

"At Denver, I really had a chance to sit down, read, write papers and give it the correct amount of time it deserves," she said.

"I've really gotten to know all my professors," she added. "It has been hands-on. I've learned a great deal the past two years and I'm thankful for it."

As for a career, there might be a return to skating, or she may continue down the path she's currently on. She said another State Department trip is in the near future in her role as a U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy.

"I see myself going on all different paths," Kwan said. "Maybe politician. There are a lot of things that I have gotten to experience on the surface. I don't know what's next. Perhaps grad school."

The other honorees at the Salute to Women in Sports were the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, which received this year's Billie Jean King Contribution Award, and Patience Knight, who received the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award.