Conditioned for Success

On off days at the Los Angeles Dodgers clubhouse, when the players were out of town and the stadium felt momentarily still, Julian Medina ’26 found himself where few fans ever get to go: inside the team’s weight room.

He had landed there almost by accident. The summer after his sophomore year at Pitzer College, Medina was working in the clubhouse kitchen, picking up hours and doing whatever needed to be done. The weight room perk came later: It was a chance to use the facilities when no one else was around.

“It was amazing,” he said. “I’m a total Dodgers fan, so just being in that space felt unreal.”

But what stayed with him wasn’t the equipment or the setting. It was a conversation. One day, he met one of the team’s strength and conditioning coaches. Their conversations ended up being life changing.

“His job sounded like everything I was looking for — fitness, sports, competition,” Medina said. “That’s when it clicked. I realized, this is what I want to do.”

Up to that point, Medina had been on a different track. An economics major, he was considering a future in finance. After that summer, he didn’t abandon that path so much as expand it — adding human biology and beginning to shape a career in athletic performance.

Now, as graduation from Pitzer approaches, that path is coming into focus. Medina has received his certification from the National Strength and Conditioning Association and will be stepping into an internship with University of Southern California athletics, working with athletes in Olympic sports. It’s a launching point, not a destination. His goal is to one day work at the highest levels of professional sports.

“You might not be a player, but you’re still part of a winning team,” he said. “Helping someone reach a level they didn’t think they could — to me that’s the best feeling.”

Determined to Achieve

Medina’s determination and drive have deep roots. Medina grew up in Echo Park, not far from Dodger Stadium, raised by his mother, Carolina, alongside his older sister, Jahselyn.

“They are the strongest people I’ve ever known,” he said. “Everything I’ve done comes from them.”

His mother, who did not have the chance to attend college, made education non-negotiable. Medina and his sister rose to the challenge, earning spots at elite private schools. Medina attended Harvard-Westlake School, where he played baseball and encountered a world very different from the one he knew.

“It was hard at first,” he said. “You’re surrounded by people whose lives look nothing like yours.”

But he and his sister adapted. More importantly, they learned not to lose themselves in the process.

“We figured out how to navigate it,” he said. “And we realized we didn’t have to change who we were. We could be proud of where we come from.”

That perspective accompanied him to Pitzer, where flexibility and support allowed him to build a path that didn’t fit neatly under the liberal arts umbrella. He designed his combined major, worked with Pomona-Pitzer athletes and took on multiple roles across campus. These roles ranged from tutoring in the language lab to serving as a resident assistant to helping manage the gym at the Gold Student Center.

To make room for certification training, Medina reshaped his schedule so that he could finish his senior year part-time and use the rest of his time to study for the certification exam. It’s been a  busy four years — but that, too, feels familiar.

“I’ve always been willing to do whatever it takes,” he said. “That’s just how I was raised.”

This summer, Medina said he’ll be back in Los Angeles, working with athletes at USC while weighing his next step: graduate study in kinesiology or a potential return to the Dodgers organization. Either way, his path ahead is clear. 

For Medina, success isn’t just about where you end up. It’s about the role you play along the way.

“I love being part of a team,” he said. “There’s nothing better than helping someone do something they couldn’t do before — and knowing you had a part in that. I love that. It fills my cup.”