In this week’s campus profile we have a fellow Gallito; Kristian Medina Cruz! He’s a shy but very interesting guy who you would sure like to meet and possibly even play some ball with. Kristian is a current member of the basketball team and still manages to have a great balance in his life and his focus for his future is clear.
Name: Kristian Medina Cruz
Born in: San Juan, PR
Age: 22
Classification: 4th Year
Major: Biology
Status: Single
HCUPR: Tell us about yourself!
KM: I’m a student here at la IUPI, major is Biology, and I play for the basketball team as power forward. I went to Minneapolis Prep School in Connecticut, USA. I’m a transfer student; I began my university studies in Texas and then I transferred here. My first year here I wasn’t able to play for the team due to transfer rules, but last year and this year I was able to play and this year we won La LAI! I like going to gym, playing FIFA, and I love going to the beach, especially with friends.
HCUPR: Why Biology?
KM: I’ve always been interested in science and now my goal is to become a chiropractor. I like to relate it sports, health, and I also like to help others such as athletes to better their body, and simply just try to help people feel better however I can.
HCUPR: Where do you usually hang out on a Thursday night?
KM: Thursdays? I don’t go out a lot (he chuckled), but when I do it’s usually to Rio Piedras with teammates and friends from the University. This has been the year I’ve most gone out, to be honest, and it hasn’t been much. I would say I go a lot to La Beckett.
HCUPR: Why did you choose to play basketball?
KM: Well, when I was six years old, I was at summer camp at the YMCA and I went to court where there were people playing basketball, so I asked the coach if I could play and he told me to wait until my mother would come and get me. He told my mother that I would be a good player because of my body and since then I’ve been playing. I like it a lot and a lot of things about it, but if you don’t play basketball you won’t get it (he laughs). I like the sound of the ball when it dribbles, when it goes through the net, I like competing and I sure do like winning. I like soccer, too, though. I’m not really good at it, but I enjoy watching it. My favorite teams are Real Madrid and Chelsea.
HCUPR: What kind of music do you listen to?
KM: Hip-Hop! I like J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar, a bit of Drake, too. Reggaeton is not my thing, but I can also listen to some Salsa, some Rock, like The Beatles, U2, Jimi Hendrix. Very American music (he laughed) since I lived four years in the States.
HCUPR: Read the book or watch the movie?
KM: Watch the movie. Unless I’m really interested, but I have to like it a lot to be able to read it. I prefer books if they are about sport psychology.
HCUPR: What’s your passion in life? What makes you get up every morning?
KM: Get my bachelor’s degree in Biology (he laughed). Really, it’s my studies. To be able to show that diploma to my mother is what I desire the most. Basketball is for a certain period in your life, but studies are forever.
HCUPR: What are your future goals?
KM: I want to graduate from here, la IUPI, then be able to go to graduate school in Florida to become a chiropractor.
HCUPR: If you could fix something in the world, what would it be?
KM: Poverty; I hate that there are people that don’t have enough to eat, much less live. There needs to be balance, equality, and justice in the world because it’s not fair for people to be dying of hunger while there are millionaires that do nothing about it.
HCUPR: What has been your biggest achievement in your University career?
KM: Winning “la LAI”. It was really difficult! It has been really hard; practices ended at 11pm, to get home around midnight, and then start to study to then get up at six or eight in the morning. It was hard, but it was worth it.
HCUPR: What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
KM: My mom always tells me that, “La vida no es color de rosa.” She also tells me to never give up and what I start I should always finish. She’s my best counselor.
HCUPR: Famous last words?
KM: Just tell my mother and my brother that I love them; because of them is that I work hard every single day.
Check out Kristian below!