This story was originally released on Jan. 30 by 69 News and published by WFMZ.com.

Reading Area Community College senior Kaiya Kizuka stands ready to represent the United States on the world stage of snowboarding.

Kaiya has been invited to compete at the 2019 FIS World Snowboard Championships in Utah as a member of the U.S. Snowboard Team. The Lower Heidelberg Township, Berks County woman will be competing in both the parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom events on February 4th and 5th.

The event is the highest level of snowboarding competition during a non-Olympic year, and many of the competitors are current World Cup and Olympic athletes.

Kaiya started to snowboard at the age of four and began racing regionally eight years later in 2011. She now trains with the Ski Roundtop Race Club, racing in the open class level at national and international FIS events.

For the last two years, Kaiya has been a member of the U.S. Junior World Snowboard Championship (JWSC) team, competing in the Czech Republic and New Zealand.

"Kaiya has persistently climbed the ladder of Alpine Snowboard Racing in the United States. Her invitation to World Championships is a result of dedication, sacrifice, and hard work," said Neil Sunday, who will be one of the coaches with Kaiya on the race course during the event. "It was only a matter of time before this opportunity presented itself; it shows that with hard work, sacrifice and dedication to your sport, you can achieve great things."

After the World Snowboard Championships, Kaiya said she hopes to travel with the JWSC team one more time to Rogla, Slovenia, in her last year of eligibility for the JWSC.

"Kaiya is a talented athlete with a lot of potential. Over the past years, I have had the pleasure of competing with her, mentoring her, and coaching her in and out of the gym," said Robby Burns, Kaiya's Project Gold and strength coach. "I am excited to watch her grow, as an individual and an athlete into a career that is only just beginning."

Kaiya, a 2017 graduate of Wilson High School, is in her final semester of the engineering program at RACC. She will graduate in May with an associate's degree.