COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Becca Danik decided to attend Ohio State University, the last place she figured she would find herself was skating on the ice with a National Hockey League team.

The 2015 Seneca Valley graduate never even played sports in high school.

“I did some cheerleading in the Seneca Valley Junior Football Association when I was little,” Danik said. “That was just for a year. It wasn’t my thing.

“I ended up joining the marching band and playing saxophone.”

Now she is a sophomore majoring in computer science engineering at OSU. And while Danik insists that “school will always come first,” she has developed another outside interest.

Danik will be a member of the Scioto Downs Ice Girls, the skating fan-friendly organization that works at Columbus Blue Jacket home games.

“My boyfriend saw a promo ad on Facebook about tryouts,” Danik said. “I checked into it and applied just for fun.

“I never thought I’d make it. All I’ve ever done is ice skate recreationally with my friends before coming here.”

Since coming to Ohio State, Danik has joined a roller hockey league and learned how to play ice hockey this past spring and summer.

Skating with speed came natural to her.

“I never took skating lessons or anything,” Danik said.

After applying for the Ice Girls, Danik was invited to a summer skate at Nationwide Arena — home of the Blue Jackets.

“That was the only on-ice portion of the auditions,” Danik said. “Last Saturday, I was invited to the next level of auditions, which involved an interview and interaction with others. They wanted to check out the personality.”

Approximately 60 girls participated in the skating tryouts. There were 25 involved in interviews and 14 were kept.

Monday afternoon, the Ice Girls’ website posted the names of the girls to make the team — and Danik’s name was among them.

“Believe me, I was very surprised,” she said. “I was surprised I got past each step of the audition. Now I’m excited about it.”

The Ice Girls will skate and push squeegee brooms to clean the ice quickly during breaks in play at Blue Jacket home games. They will also greet fans as they enter the arena and run various contests in the stands.

Danik said she will have the option of working all Blue Jacket home games, along with the Sept. 9 World Cup game between Team USA and Team Canada at the arena.

“I’ll definitely be there for that one,” she enthused. “We do have to be quick when we clean the ice at games. That’s done a few times each game, as mandated by the NHL.

“We have to report two hours before the game to prepare to greet fans as they arrive.”

The Ice Girls are required to work at least 23 of the Blue Jackets’ 41 home games. Danik said that should give her enough flexibility to balance her school schedule with working the games.

“As long as I don’t have issues with school or a conflict that way, I’ll do the game,” she said. “But school will definitely come first. That’s why I’m here.”

If she wants to return to the Ice Girls next year, she will have to go through the audition process all over again.

“The girls who made it this year will receive a guaranteed audition opportunity next year,” Danik said. “But you still have to go through auditions and make the team again. No one is guaranteed a spot next year.

“I’m thrilled that I got chosen. This whole thing has been a series of pleasant surprises so far.”