She's Learning, Dancing, Filming and Adjusting
Maiya Contreras joined the SDSU community with a vital new survival skill: balance.
The term “Renaissance man/woman” is used to describe a person who is very good at many things.“I found a healthy balance, and (this) reinforced how important it was to always keep my mental health first.”
If you look up the definition in a dictionary, you might find a picture of Maiya Contreras, a freshman graphic design major.
An accomplished dancer and dance teacher, an aspiring filmmaker and a burgeoning animator and makeup artist, the Weber Honors College scholar approaches each piece of her life with equal passion and enthusiasm.
But managing all of those passions hasn’t always been easy for the Mission Viejo native.
“My mom makes fun of me because I’m not really good at time management, but I’ve somehow managed to do all of these different things,” Contreras said. “I think it has a lot to do with the people I surround myself with, my family and friends. They don’t pressure me to go out of my way to do things that I don’t want to do, but they encourage me to do the things that I can do and that I can invest my time into.”
Contreras’ first love was dance, which she started as a toddler with ballet at Suzanne’s Dance Factory and has continued for 16 years, expanding her repertoire to jazz, tap and lyrical dance. By her sophomore year in high school, she was substitute teaching at the studio. Last year, she was elevated to the position of student teacher, instructing young tapsters in addition to the four weekly classes she was taking.
“It’s a really great opportunity,” Contreras said. “I feel like that’s not a lot of other people get to do at other studios, so it’s something that made me jump into a more responsible role.”
Also during her sophomore year at Capistrano Valley High School (CVHS), Contreras was introduced to her second love — which rapidly became her new passion — filmmaking.
That year, she took a video production course taught by CVHS film production teacher Craig Landino that changed her life.
From that course, Contreras branched into graphic design in films and animation, and makeup.
Her graphics received a nomination in the prestigious Orange County Film Festival in 2018. By that point, Contreras said, she realized this would be her life’s path.
“He was so encouraging to every one of the students, and he was definitely the person who encouraged me to major in graphic design,” Contreras said.
“I was going to major in something like psychology, but now I know I have to do art, I have to continue doing that,” Contreras said.
Landino spoke effusively about his prized student.
“She is the best,” he said. “She came into video production without any experience; she was a dancer. But one of the things I loved about her was her teachability. She never shied away from the opportunity to grow personally and what that ended up doing was giving me complete trust in her.”
But as Contreras added to her impressive repertoire, she struggled for the first time to manage her wellness. Ambitious by nature, she loaded her schedule with AP classes and during freshman year joined the color guard — which turned out to be an extremely demanding activity.
She was barely sleeping. Her demeanor, which today is best described as vivacious, was sullen. She showed early signs of depression.
And while she managed to not allow her struggles affect her grades, Contreras said she knew she had to make changes.
She quit color guard after her freshman year. She sought the advice of her parents on how to find her center again. Once she did, she vowed to maintain a more balanced lifestyle.
“I think I started realizing how much sleep I was getting and realized that choosing school over my mental health was really damaging to me,” Contreras said. “I found a healthy balance, and (this) reinforced how important it was to always keep my mental health first.”
Landino said Contreras’ struggle was emblematic of what many students face today in a high-pressure scholastic environment.
“I think the ability to be aware of your mental health and to not sacrifice it in the pursuit of something that in the end is all very trivial, is special,” Landino said. “And I think that’s what Maiya was able to do. She said, ‘I’m not going to let the system define me. I will define me, and work within the system.’”
Contreras said she is excited to start her new chapter at SDSU. She chose the San Diego campus for its diversity, inclusivity and distance from her Orange County home — she can still see her two pet dogs, Casper and Dusty, on the weekends.
Contreras plans to continue her juggling act — but with an eye to her mental wellness. It doesn’t look like she will drop the ball anytime soon.
“It’s just finding something unique for yourself because what I do obviously can’t work for anyone else,” Contreras said. “I’ve found just a healthy balance between all the things I do.”
For students looking for their own healthy balance, Counseling and Psychological Services provides services and resources that include counseling, workshops and programs, appointments with therapy dog Baxter and the stress-free Center for Well-Being on the fourth floor of Calpulli Center.
