At one point or another, most people wish there were more than 24 hours in a day or an extra day tacked on to the end of the week to accomplish everything in their busy lives. For Alyssa Dunn, those thoughts are a daily occurrence. And yet, she makes the most of the time at hand.

Between being a full-time graduate student and a part-time college professor, giving private lessons and working as an assistant skating director, and competing as collegiate skater and a member of a successful synchronized skating team, it's all she can do to schedule a free minute to reflect on how fast things move in her non-stop world.

Earlier this season, Dunn and the members of her Skyliners synchronized skating team competed in the Lumiere Cup in the Netherlands, where they finished third. Then it was back to home soil for the U.S. International Classic, where the rigors of international travel and competition caught up with them and left them in fifth place.

And then for the 24-year-old Chicago area native, it was right back to her full-time routine that starts with an early-morning trip to the gym before heading off to the classroom to teach an introduction to technology class at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, where she is also completing her third master's degree.

Then it's over to the Martire Family Arena to work on the next routine she will unveil competing in the collegiate competition, followed by teaching some private lessons before ending the day with several hours of homework. Then it's rinse, rest and repeat it all over again the next day.

"Sometimes I really do have to remind myself that there's only 24 hours in a day because I really like to push the envelope," says Dunn, who earned her undergraduate degree in information technology before completing her first two master's degrees in business analytics and cybersecurity each in less than a year.

"My life is very structured for each thing because I have no problem making it all work. And everyone around me has been so supportive to help me make it all work. I have big ambitions and I want to try and accomplish everything I can."

Her weekends are devoted to practicing with the Skyliners at the Chelsea Piers rink in nearby Stamford and the Sport-O-Rama Ice Rink in Monsey, New York. After devoting so much of her life to training as an individual skater, Dunn loves the camaraderie of skating in a team event that requires skaters to perform choreographed routines in perfect unison.

"The two [disciplines] are very different, very different vibes," she says. "For individuals, it's just me and my coach and anything that I do is just within my own brain. For synchro, it's the complete opposite. You communicate with your teammates and everything is still between you and your coach, but it's a group effort to make it work versus how much effort I individually have to put in to make it work. It's two very different strategies, I guess."

Dunn is able to accomplish so many things on a daily basis thanks to time management skills honed from an early age, a supportive group of professors and technological advances that allow her to seem to be multiple places at the same time.

"I've been doing this for such a long time that I've gotten very good at it," she admits. "I let everyone know ahead of time when I first get my schedule what days that I'll be missing, so everyone is fully aware of when I'll be gone. And now that we live in like a virtual age, I have no problem sitting in on a Zoom class or stuff like that. I am usually working 24/7 around the clock, wherever I am. So that way I'm not missing too much."

As Dunn looks toward the end of her 19th season in the sport, she continues to set short-term goals to help her achieve her ultimate reward, which is to become the best version of herself that she can. Whether that's skating as an individual performer or as a member of the Skyliners, she knows the journey is more important than the destination.

"When I was younger, I had a bunch of short-term goals that I wanted to accomplish, [such as] making it to regionals and sectionals," she recalls. "But the big goal overall was always just to be the best skater I could be because I know there are things that I can't control. So, whatever I could do to be the best athlete that I could be was my overall ambition and goal."

One of the more immediate short-term goals is to see the Skyliners reach the podium at the U.S. Synchronized Championships in Salt Lake City in March. Looking farther into the future, Dunn hopes to see the sport eventually make it into the Olympics, and that she will be able to be a part of it.

If and when that day comes, she'll be sure to squeeze it into her schedule.