Welcome to Olympian Essays.
What I Write
My name is Siobhan Heekin-Canedy. I’m a former Olympic ice dancer, a part-time skating coach, a Catholic, a wife, and a mother. Most relevantly for you, I’m also a freelance writer. I fell into freelance writing a couple years ago, when I was looking to transition to part-time work in order to spend more time with my kids. I had a lot to say and an almost irresistible urge to write it down and share it. As I wrote and published more, the ideas kept coming, and the urge to write just got stronger.
My writing is an extension of my experience and interests. My background is a unique combination of many things that might seem in tension, but, I believe, complement each other: academics and athletics, professional life and family life, motherhood and feminism, American and Ukrainian identity, liberal arts and international affairs. I have written on topics including international affairs, Ukraine, faith, culture, feminism, and sports, and I am so grateful that my work has been featured in The Public Discourse, America, American Purpose, Fairer Disputations, Providence, and Current. I plan to continue sharing my work primarily through publications such as these; however, I occasionally write essays that don’t quite fit anywhere, or I want to bypass the (sometimes lengthy) submission and editing process. This is where Olympian Essays comes in.
Why “Olympian Essays”?
“Olympian” has become a core part of my identity. Not because competing in the Olympics is the most important thing I’ve done - it’s not. Not because I subscribe to some sort of pseudo-religious devotion to the Olympic movement - I don’t. To me, being an Olympian means living out the ideals of peace, intercultural understanding, and commitment to excellence. It means being grateful for all I learned and experienced during the many years I trained for the Olympics and for all the opportunities I have received as a result. It means drawing on those years of experience as I embrace new seasons in life. The word took on even deeper meaning for me when I discovered the Ukrainian Catholic martyr, Bl. Olympia Bida; in fact, one of my daughters is named Olympia in honor of her and the Ukrainian people, and in gratitude for the opportunity to represent Ukraine in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Being an Olympian ultimately means being an athlete of Christ, striving for the glory of the true Mt. Olympos - heaven.
So, in one sense, “Olympian Essays” means “the essays (writings) of an Olympic athlete,” with all that being an Olympian means to me. But “Olympian” can also mean “lofty.” “Essays” can mean “efforts” or “attempts.” And I am all too aware that my writings have a lofty aim, but are just that - attempts. As an opinion writer, I seek to influence my readers, and I don’t shy away from controversial or difficult topics. Most people who read my writing - or anyone’s writing - probably won’t change their minds about these topics. What’s more, I could be wrong. Writing and publishing is an act of hope against hope that something you say will make a difference in our broken, complicated world. Here’s hoping.
To learn view more of Siobhan’s writing, visit her LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/siobhan-heekin-canedy/
Follow Siobhan on X (Twitter) at @SiobhanHC_OLY
