Catching up with alumna Katie Hensien

Despite spending four years on the University of Denver’s ski team, it wasn’t until 10 months after graduation that Katie Hensien (BSBA ’23) really got to experience the city of Denver. Between her class schedule at the Daniels College of Business and training and competing for the Pioneers, as well as her professional ski obligations, most of her time at DU was spent studying or traveling to and from the slopes.

But one year after graduating as one of the University’s most decorated skiers of all time, a crash during a training camp session in Utah resulted in a season-ending injury in her left knee. The injury kicked off a year-long rehab process that Hensien decided to complete while living at her home-away-from-home in Denver.

“I feel kind of like a regular graduate,” Hensien says with a laugh. “It’s nice because most of my college friends are also still here in Denver, and we’re connected through that Denver Pioneer community. It’s nice to be back because I love the area. I might go to a hockey game. It’s the most time I’ve spent in the U.S. over the past five years and, injury aside, it’s pretty great.”

Hensien added that although she’s frustrated by the lack of skiing, she also doesn’t want to rush back and risk a setback. That puts her likely return to high-level racing in the fall of 2024.

She’s long been a staple of that scene, starting with the U.S. Alpine Ski Team in 2016 and competing in World Cup races since 2017. She earned her first points on the circuit in 2020 and made the Olympic team in 2022, where she placed 26th in the women’s slalom race. She was the first DU Olympian on Team USA in alpine skiing since Eric Poulsen in 1972 and the first woman since Gladys Werner in 1956.

While competing for DU in 2019, 2020 and 2022—Hensien didn’t race collegiately in 2021 while preparing for the Winter Olympics and racing at the FIS World Ski Championships with Team USA—Hensien racked up victories, particularly in her senior season. She was selected as the National Women's Alpine Skier of the Year by the U.S. Collegiate Ski Coaches Association after placing on the podium in 75% of her races, plus finishing top five in all seven of her races that year. She was DU’s 96th individual national champion after winning the women’s alpine slalom event.

But that momentum was slowed with the crash that sidelined her for this competitive season.

“Mentally, it’s hard,” she says. “This is the least I’ve skied since I was about three years old, and I’ve had to adapt. I’d be training or racing right now, so I’m getting to do things I wouldn’t normally be doing and learning a lot about what my life looks like outside the sport. What can I do and what can I put my academics to?”

Hensien’s obsession started when her parents—Midwesterners living in Seattle—enrolled the family in ski school at Whistler in British Columbia. By the end of the day, Hensien was sobbing because the lifts closed. By eight years old, she was nationally competitive and when she was a teenager, the family moved to Park City so Hensien could enroll at the prestigious Rowmark Ski Academy.

Already a member of the U.S. National Ski Team when she graduated from high school, Hensien wanted to continue her academic aspirations alongside her professional ones. While the long-term success of Denver’s ski program played a factor, the idea of attending a smaller liberal arts university was appealing. Ultimately, she fell in love with the history of the DU ski program and the atmosphere of the school, plus the ability to be simultaneously 45 minutes from the slopes and 20 minutes from a major metro downtown.

“I was really intimidated coming here at first,” she says. “All the history, All-Americans, Olympians, so much success. But it ended up being a home away from home. I’d have these long, 24-plus-hour trips coming back, and it was just great to come home to DU. I had a great support system of friends and teachers.”

And while Hensien expects to compete for as long as possible, the year away from the sport while rehabbing forced her to look at her academic pursuits. She’s considered pursuing an advanced degree and has the eventual goal of owning a business, adding with a laugh that she “hopes to get a grasp of what the real world looks like.”

“I don’t think I’d be where I’m at without the whole experience,” Hensien says.