Melanie Ortiz '22 Recruiting Profile

I was born and raised in Mesa, Arizona and I've been living here the past 16 years. My parents are both hardworking people and when they were younger they also did track and cross country. Both my parents ran in Mexico. My mom had the opportunity to go far in track since she represented Nogales, Sonora but sadly she didn't go far with track because she found out she was pregnant with me. In elementary I knew I liked running and I knew I was fast and wanted to become a runner and run at college level ever since. I would run outside of school and my dad would train me. 

My moms goal was to make it far with track and to make it to the Olympics and I want to do that for her. That's been my goal ever since I was small. I want my name to be out there and to get known for something great.  I know college level is a once in a lifetime opportunity and i'm willing to keep on working harder and pushing myself to receive that opportunity. I want to make my parents proud.

What makes me a good candidate for a team is that i'm always willing to take the role as a leader and take charge. My past teachers would always tell my parents that i'm a great role model and leader. I'm always willing to take risks and try new things out. I also put my education before anything. I always tend to make my simple assignments the best they could be and I maintain to keep a high GPA while balancing sports at the same time. What makes me stand out is i'm always willing on helping others and putting other peoples problems before mine. I'm a helpful and caring person and it doesn't matter who it is, i'm always offering help.