Tanya Medina of Springfield Central HS: Student-Athlete of the Month for May 2024

Springfield Central High School Receives MIAA Student-Athlete of the Month Award for May 2024

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is proud to announce that Tanya Medina of Springfield Central High School is the recipient of its Student-Athlete of the Month for May 2024.

A standout softball player for the Golden Eagles, Tanya was nominated by her coach Yvonne Percy-Golas.  On the softball field Tanya is a dedicated and hard working player.  She started in left field and had the 2nd highest batting average on the team (.417), lead the team in hits (30) and singles (29).  She was also 2nd on the team in runs scored (33) and lead the team in Reached on Error (ROE) with 5.  Coach Percy-Golas said, “Tanya is a coach’s dream player as she works hard and never complains.  She won’t be All-League, but without her we would struggle.  On top of that, Tanya is a Juvenile Diabetic and wears an insulin pump to manage her condition (she managed things just fine, but being an athlete with that condition is also challenging at times).”

In addition to her athletic success, Tanya is a great student at Central and this year took 5 AP classes while playing a varsity sport.  She took AP Pre-Calculus, AP Studio Art, AP English 12, AP Economics, and AP African-American Studies. Her strong GPA has earned her a very high-class rank in a class of 513 students.

In addition to her in-school activities, Tanya finds the time to be a contributing member of her community.  She is actively involved in volunteer work through her church’s Serve Day, an annual initiative designed to make a difference beyond the church walls and serve the local community to uplift those in need.  Last summer, Tanya joined a group of volunteers that went to Christina’s House, a local non-profit, where they engaged in cooking and cleaning activities.  This in-person and hands on support provided much need assistance to the residents and staff to create a more welcoming and comforting environment.  Tanya has also participated in Back-to-School events in Holyoke to help fill backpacks and ensure a smooth start to the school year for elementary school children.  A supporter of our veterans,  Tanya has also been to the Ludlow Veterans’ Center to provide blankets to those in need and made care packages for the homeless in Western Mass.