SUBWAY FEATURED STUDENT: ALLYSA MONTOYA, TULAROSA HIGH SCHOOL

Allysa Montoya wasn’t born when Nike came up with their “Just Do It” campaign, but you might think they had the Tularosa senior in mind when they developed the slogan.

“Just me being me, I have to do it,” Montoya said about her full schedule.

Montoya is a three-sport competitor.  She plays volleyball in the fall, basketball in the winter and track in the spring. “Volleyball is my go-to,” she responded when asked about a favorite.  “I love it!”

“My middle school years, I wanted to try everything.  I guess I just stuck with it once I got to high school.  All the sports grow on me.  I never liked basketball, I never liked track.  But once I got to high school I started to like things more and get more involved, even in academics.”

Volleyball may be her first love, but the highlight of her athletic career came last May at the state track meet.  Montoya was on the state record winning 4x400m relay squad. The four runners clocked in with a new record time of 4:09.65.  “I anchored that race, so everybody was watching me because we were ahead,” Montoya remembers.  “I actually thought that they were about to pass me.  That was my best time, no doubt.  Afterwards it felt pretty good, but I was tired.”

When she’s not competing athletically, Montoya is working hard in the classroom.  She is currently tops in her class when it comes to grade point average.  Montoya is also involved in the science club, she was voted vice president of student council and was just inducted as president of the National Honors Society.

“I like to stay involved because I see people who aren’t involved and they’re less sociable,” she said. “I feel like if you include yourself in things, it will help you in life.”

Montoya has advice for any incoming high schoolers.  “There’s so little time.  In four years of your entire life, you gotta enjoy it.  You have to be involved and you have to stay motivated.”

Just do it.