If you blink, you might miss him. With a top speed of 30 miles per hour, freshman Lukas Anderson, 18, is one of the fastest students at MSOE. But he’s not zooming around in a vehicle that he designed and built—he’s moving under his own power.

Anderson has been speed skating since he was 8 years old and has won several national competitions. Now, he is ready to take his skating to bigger arenas in preparation for the 2022 Winter Olympics. The next step in that journey is to compete at the 2017 Universiade, or “World University Games,” which will be held Jan. 29-Feb. 8 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Second only in size and scope to the Olympics, the games are an international multi-sport competition organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation. Anderson, a native of Lansing, Michigan, is one of five athletes who will represent the U.S. in speed skating at the World University Games.

One of the reasons Anderson chose MSOE was for its proximity to the Pettit National Ice Center, an official U.S. Olympic training site. The other was for MSOE’s academic reputation. “I wanted to make sure I earned my degree from a great university so that I’m prepared for a lifelong career after my skating career comes to an end,” he said.

The software engineering major starts his day long before most college students. He wakes up at 5:30 a.m. and is out the door before breakfast is served in his residence hall. He takes the bus from MSOE’s downtown campus to arrive at the Pettit by 6:45 a.m. He’s on the ice at 7:30 a.m., preparing physically and mentally for what will be the biggest and most important races of his career to date. After his morning workout at the Pettit, he takes the bus back to campus for his first class at 11 a.m. Anderson spends his late afternoons at MSOE’s on-campus athletic facility, the Kern Center, focusing on strength training.

His busy schedule leaves little time for sleep and homework, but Anderson manages to fit it all in. (He did admit to catching a few naps on his bus rides.) He’s excelling in the classroom as a part of the University Scholars honors program, and also was named to the Honors List.