Our Team
Meet our President Tatiana Santacoloma!
As a dual enrollment student and dual sport athlete, Tatiana has first hand experience with the struggles to balance life and responsibilities as a student athlete. She aims to “start a larger movement towards breaking the stigma around mental health in school settings where many sources of stress can mix and breed.”
As founder, when asked to describe SAMIPP to others, Tatiana says, “SAMIPP is essentially a service club. We support a myriad of causes all tailored towards preserving the mental health of teens in sports. Membership means support for the protection of dynamic student lives outside of school. The feeling of fulfillment after helping others through community service and empathizing is truly inexplicable.” She encourages those who are unfamiliar with that feeling to “seek it in SAMIPP because I’m sure that those who have a passion for serving the community would proudly become part of our mission.”
As a mental health advocate for teens, Tatiana advises other student athletes to focus on “One thing at a time.” Piling many responsibilities on top of each other can create stress and anxiety about the future. For this reason, it is helpful to focus on what is being done at the moment and now what has to be done over a long period of time. When she found herself struggling to balance school and sports, Tatiana created a schedule for herself to stay organized, giving her a sense of control and fulfillment when she was finally able to complete her tasks.
Tatiana uses sports as an “instrument of stress relief.” She finds “that many student athletes can decompress when they begin practice and all their stresses seem to pause for the duration of their activity; I want to help students with a love for their sports be able to excel in school and relax while they train (a balance that I feel is often lost in the battle with anxiety and burnout).”
In her downtime, Tatiana enjoys piano as well as reading. She hopes to be a future litigator, and continue her ongoing career as an avid concert-goer!
Our Executive Assistant Saffron Carson!
Saffron was introduced to SAMIPP by our founder, and immediately fell in love with the idea. As someone who uses athletics and fitness as a way to positively support mental health as well as combat mental health struggles, SAMIPP’s mission meant a lot in terms of being able to provide support for those like her who have faced the feelings of insecurity, lack of control, and anxiety that comes with being a student athlete.
In the past, having a good support system has been especially effective in battling periods of bad mental health. “I have been able to find support within my friends and family in times of need, and I find that even if I am unable to find a solution to any issue at the moment, just having someone there to resonate with and talk to removes the weight of having to struggle alone. I think it is great to have people in your corner and I believe that student athletes who often struggle with prioritizing their mental health on top of the dozens of responsibilities on their plate will greatly benefit from SAMIPP.”
As a former team cross country runner, who has now transitioned to training for half-marathons, Saffron hopes to remind student athletes to stay true to themselves and never ignore your body. “As a former team cross country runner, I often struggled with the pressure of competing and found that although I loved to run as well as being on a team, running cross country with an emphasis on speed and time, wasn’t my true passion and denying that only caused me more stress. I transitioned to marathon training because I’d always wanted to see what my body was capable of and one day train to complete a full marathon. Once I took the pressure off and began to run for myself, treading longer distances every day, I felt more fulfilled and the mental turmoil I had felt before was lifted.”
Apart from working out and training, Saffron finds that writing–especially poetry–is greatly beneficial to her mental health as it allows her to release negative emotions into a tangible source to reflect on.
She also loves watching horror movies, listening to music, and will be attending three concerts later this year!
Our Media Manager Maya Collins!
Maya has been an athlete her whole life, participating in gymnastics for ten years and is currently coming up on two and a half years of figure skating. Maya joined SAMIPP to remind others that sports require not only physical, but also mental wellbeing. She is glad to be part of a group that focuses on this aspect that’s often forgotten in athletes.
To her, SAMIPP is a “safe space where athletes struggling with mental health can freely express their conflicts and receive assistance. There are countless resources that members can always be connected to, and this organization serves as a place to fall back on in times of need.”
In the past, Maya has had her friends and family to rely on throughout times of high anxiety and to remind her that “the obstacle I’m facing is always larger in my head.” She believes it is helpful for student athletes like herself to remember “that your greatest competition is yourself. Instead of focusing on beating others, the most important thing is to try and be better than your past self!”
In her free time, she enjoys painting, pottery, and music. Her favorite artists are Laufey and the band, Greta Van Fleet. In the future, she would like to study and work in the marine science field!
Communications Manager Isabella Morado!
Isabella was introduced to SAMIPP by our founder and president, Tatiana Santacoloma, and emphasizes the importance of mental health outreach, citing statistics associating mental health struggles with school-aged children and teens. She believes being a part of SAMIPP is one of many opportunities this demographic has available to participate in and provide help within their local community.
Isabella enjoys writing and music as ways to supplement her mental health. She especially loves the Beatles, and one day hopes to be a neuroscientist/astrophysicist! She is also a cat lover and owns 7 cats.
Isabella has benefitted from the support of her friends in the past in overcoming mental health struggles, “as their constant support made me realize I am not alone in my journey to overcome my own mind,” she says.
If she were to give advice to current student athletes, she’d stress the importance of maintaining their communication skills. “They're fantastic, talented individuals, and with a strong connection with their coaches and peers, they will develop into adults who can balance their performance with their mental health.”
