Berkeley College student tops list of downhill longboarders

In the classroom and on her longboard, Emily Pross of Vernon is on the fast track to success.

The 19-year-old, a native of Denville, already is the top-ranked female downhill longboarder in the world according to the International Downhill Federation. Berkeley College recently honored her at its Dover campus for achieving that goal while maintaining a 3.6 grade point average as a marketing communications major who is on target to graduate with the Class of 2018 with a bachelor of science degree.

“You are such an inspiration,” Dallas Reed, vice president of student development and campus life, told her during the celebration. “At such a young age, you do an amazing job at balancing your life. You have such fortitude and grace. Someday you must write a book!”

“I want to break the barriers for women in this sport,” Pross told the gathering after showing some of her longboard gear and explaining her sport, which is similar to skateboarding but with a longer board and faster, with downhill, slalom and other competitions. "I like to compete against the men when I race. Not only was I world champion in the women's category this year, but I also finished 25th overall in the world in the men's category."

In one open race in Vermont that did not separate the female racers from the males, Pross finished sixth in a 100-rider field. At times, she topped 67 miles per hour.

Pross came to the sport by accident. An interest in gravity sports led her to the desire of trying street luge, but a Google search brought her instead to longboards.

"It was a little bit of a mistake, but a mistake that paid off because I love longboarding and skateboarding," she said.

Like most people in Vernon, she lived on a hill that provided a great course for her new passion. More recently, she's longboarding across the United States and the world, competing in the International Downhill Federation circuit, which includes a February event in Australia and New Zealand she hopes to attend.

Pross travels often, including to Europe over the summer for races with women from more than a dozen countries. She also will attend a “garage” race in Texas in January. Flexible scheduling at Berkeley helps her keep up with her studies as she hits the IDF longboard circuit, which resumes in mid-February.

"The season normally ends in Brazil in November," said Pross, who competed over the summer at an event in Europe that drew entrants from 12 countries.

Purses are small, but sponsorships have helped her to offset the high cost of travel and equipment.

"I don't really make any money off it," she said. "It's just something I love to do and have a passion for."

Pross, who is studying marketing in hopes of a career in the growing extreme sports industry, says the flexible schedule at Berkeley and the ability to take her courses online have made it possible for her to pursue her career as a professional athlete.

"It works out especially with online classes," she said. "Sunday is the beginning of a new week, that's when the new week of online classes is released. So when I am racing on the weekend, it gives me the weekdays to get all my work done. They also offer a lot of help, with tutors on campus if I need them, and online tutoring as well, so if I need help, I can talk to the online tutor."

Berkeley Chairman of the Board Kevin L. Luing spoke at the gathering, telling Pross “I heard that your nickname in the downhill longboarding world is ‘The PROSSecutor,’ but after I saw you racing on the Internet, flowing from side to side, and thought about how well you balance your studies, both onsite and online, with athletics, I would call you ‘The Balancer.' "

"A lot of friends I have (in longboarding) are in colleges that are against skateboarding, so it was really awesome to have Berkeley honor me for such an underground sport."

Like most college students, she is looking forward to the holiday break, but will soon be back to studying and racing.

“I am home for the fall and then will stay with my uncle in Virginia during the winter and take my classes online,” said Pross, who chose marketing communications as a major because she feels it will help promote her career.

“You have to stick with your gut and your goals,” she said. “And never give up, no matter what.”

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-917-9242; wwesthoven@GannettNJ.com.