Harley Middleton grew up at Skate Odyssey in Starkville.
Her dad built the business “from the ground up” in 1988. After spending extensive time at this fun and entertaining location over the years, she has found her own way to utilize her family’s business.
Middleton created the Skate Odyssey after school program at the beginning of this year, caring for nearly 150 children, ages 5-12, every weekday. As children come to the skating rink after school, she said they love always having something fun to look forward to.
“They really love coming here,” Middleton said. “My staff and I teach them STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities, and we have guest speakers that come in, so they do things other than skate. We want them to be well-rounded human beings.”
Always having a passion for working with children, Middleton received a master’s of education from Mississippi State University. After graduating, she worked as a teacher at Armstrong Junior High School for a few years, but once she had a baby in 2020, she said she wanted to find a career where she could spend more time at home with her child.
Soon after her child’s birth, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and closed down her family’s business for three months. She then had an idea that sparked her new path in life.
With the help of her dad, Taylor Middleton, and family friend Sharon Avant she created the Skate Odyssey after school program, officially launching it in January 2021.
“Without the help of my dad and Sharon, I would not be where I am,” Middleton said. “It was a constant push of, ‘You can do this. You are overqualified to do this.’ I would never have taken the leap to create this without them.”
While running this program, Middleton also teaches at Mississippi State University as an adjunct professor and helps her family out on the weekends when Skate Odyssey is open to the public.
Middleton went through a considerable amount of training and applied modifications to the rink in order to properly qualify as an after school program. She said she knows parents are always looking for child care and is happy that she can provide a safe and fun environment for parents to send their children to.
“I think that this program has made an impact on the community because the fact that we have so many kids coming every day just shows it was a huge need,” Middleton said. “My first day of sign ups, I had 34 cars in the parking lot 30 minutes before we opened sign-ups. I felt so loved. Everyone was just so happy to be a part of it.”
Along with supervising kids every weekday, Middleton also created a summer program this year for children. She said this not only gave children in the community something fun to do with their summer but helped bring in revenue.
Middleton expressed wanting to potentially extend the program if the opportunity presented itself and the time was appropriate. She said her family also owns Skate Zone in Columbus and has discussed possibly launching a program there.
Middleton said the program she has established has given her the biggest purpose in life. She said she hopes she makes the same kind of impact that the children she serves have on her.
“I plan to be doing this for a very long time,” Middleton said. “I want to do this as long as there is a need in the community. I also finally have something I can finally be proud of for my baby. As a working mom, it’s really nice to be working with kids and knowing, ‘OK, I’m making a difference, and it’s a good thing.’ I’m just really proud of what I’ve created.”
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