Humans of Reno: A Swimmer from Mexico Wants to Stay
After schooling ends for foreign athletes who obtained scholarships it’s often a scramble to find ways to stay after their student visas run out. Arantxa Medina, a native Mexican who was offered the chance to swim at the University of Nevada, Reno, says she has had a taste of the American Dream and now doesn’t want to let it go. Reporting and photos by Jolene Norton.
There comes a time when every swimmer cleans out their pool locker, as Aranxta Medina had to do recently at UNR.
But her story starts much earlier, when swimming was a required skill of her household in Hermosillo, in Mexico’s northwest.
“ My dad is the one who reinforced (my) swimming ability in my house” she said. “All my four siblings and me we needed to know, learn how to swim, just for like survival purposes.”
An Early Competitive Streak
She attended the Mexican national swimming championships at the age of 11, entering the 100 yard breaststroke and 50 yard freestyle.
Medina says there was something special about having to beat the person in the next lane.
“Its just my competitive instinct. I like to have someone next to me,” she said.
This drive helped bring Medina to UNR’s swim team. Her collegiate career was marked by many successes, one of which included a team Mountain West title.
Challenges and Opportunities in the Pool and Classroom
The journey to success was filled with challenges. Over the past three years, UNR’s swim team dealt with three coaching changes. Medina says though the situation was not ideal, she understands why some coaches move around.
“This university is only a step for them to get to a better place,” she said. “And I feel like after I understood that, it was like me. That’s why I left home, because I wanted a better opportunity.
Medina says transitions like this have strengthened her independence and made her serious about her education.
“Like my parents probably tell me school first.,” she said. “And now I get it completely. That’s why school was always first. Cause there was a point that you will stop swimming and you needed something else too, for yourself.”
A Degree More Useful in the U.S.
Medina is graduating with a major in nutrition and dietetics, something she says would not offer her as many opportunities as far as job prospects in her home country.
“Its going to be hard for me to move on from here back to Mexico,” she said. “It’s like taking a step back. I studied something that’s super developed here and it’s growing so fast here as well. And Mexico, it’s not even there to get going.”
While she is not competing at the college level anymore, Medina still is focused on fitness and her health. She’s recently applied for a work visa to continue her American dream. She says she would like to work for governmental programs that help low income communities with nutrition programs before branching out into the sports dietetics field.
