Smith became the youngest inline skater to make a Junior World Team. Over the next three years, she collected 15 gold medals at the junior level. At sixteen, she made the Senior World Team. She collected 16 senior gold medals over the next few years, wrapping up her inline career with a Pan American Gold Medal in 2007. At the 2007 Inline World Championships, she suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery. After 2007, Smith transitioned to short track speed skating. It was a tough decision – she was making a living as an inline skater and transitioning would require that she move away from her family in Metro Detroit for the first time. But, winning and making money was not enough for Smith so she make the switch. "I decided to pursue my final goal and dream of becoming an Olympian," she explained. "The only way to do it was to make the switch". She moved to Salt Lake City and joined Derek Parra's Wheels on Ice Program. According to Smith, the transition from an elite athlete in inline to a beginner in short track was difficult and "humbling". Smith briefly moved to Milwaukee to try long track speed skating, but did not like it. "If you put me next to someone, I can outrace [them]," she explained. "But if you put me on the line by myself, I just can’t pull it together." She returned to Utah where national short track coach Jae Su Chun saw something in Smith that made him believe she could be elite. Under Chun's guidance, Smith improved quickly. She made the 2008, 2009, and 2010 World Cup Teams, and participated in the 2009 World Championships. At the 2009 World Team Championships, Smith helped the United States place third. However, Smith narrowly missed the 2010 Olympic team. "I was a little devastated," she recalled. "[I had] always achieved [my goals] ... I was feeling good about making that team in 2010, but I fell short." She was selected as an alternate, did not compete. A week after the Olympics, Smith had a World Cup meet. She came from behind in every round of the 1000 meters to make the finals. In the finals, she won bronze. Smith later called the meet the most memorable of her career, saying "I didn’t give up on myself ...[and] reminded myself that I am a champion." Smith rededicated