JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Erin Jackson doesn't mind calling herself a nerd. And just back from her gold medal performance in Beijing, Jackson is talking about her plans for the future.
Jackson is the first Black woman to win gold in her sport. She was the fastest on ice in the short-track speed skating competition in the Olympics.
Jackson says she'd like to go into the field of prosthetics. "Since getting my engineering degree from the UF, I've been going to a community college and picked up an associates in computer science and I'm working on an associates in kinesiology. Combining all that into biomechanics --- then I'll be pretty happy," she says.
Jackson's degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville included working under Dr. Jack Mecholsky, considered an international expert on quantitative fractographic analysis of brittle materials, according to UF.
"He's amazing," Jackson says. He says Jackson is remarkably bright.
Jackson says her studies in engineering helped her transition from inline skating to ice. For example, she studied body position. "I had to sit a lot deeper in my skating technique," she says. She studied the angles and "the direction of my feet. 'Direction of push' is what we call it," she says.
As for her new gold medal? She lights up with that radiant smile, lifts the medal around her neck and says, "It feels a little heavy, you know."
Where will she put the gold? "Let's see," she says, "I'll have to hold it up in random places around my house and see what fits!"
Jackson was live on NBC's Today Show for her first homecoming victory stop. In an interview with First Coast News, Jackson says she's anxious to taste some of the food New York City offers. "Everything in moderation," she says.