#IamUCI – Q&A with Class of 2022 graduate Anna Medina, M.F.A.
Q&A with Class of 2022 graduate Anna Medina, M.F.A.
by Tom Vasich / UCI News
In an essay for UCI’s Dance Major Journal, San Diego native Anna Medina wrote, “Growing up both Mexican and American, I lived on both sides of the border at different times in my life, sometimes sure that I belonged, other times feeling disadvantaged.”
It was first in dance classes that she felt at home, especially in her grandmother’s dance studio in Tijuana. There, she learned tap, jazz and ballet. Medina continued dancing through her teens, performing with City Ballet of San Diego and San Diego Ballet. “The studio was like a second home where I spent nearly all my time,” she wrote. “In dance, I overcame my fears about being different – ballet was a language that I understood.”
Medina earned a bachelor’s degree in political science at Boston College and has participated in San Diego government as a city council representative and arts organization liaison. In 2019, she came to UCI to pursue a master’s degree in dance – hoping to develop as a dancer, teacher and choreographer capable of inspiring and empowering her students and audience through her work.