Noah Salinas returned to Sterling, Colorado, his hometown. He wants to become a physical therapist.

Four years ago, Noah Salinas was a Maricopa High School senior looking ahead to the future. His academics in order, he had competed on the wrestling mat and was thinking about a career in physical therapy.

But it’s been a bumpy few years for the determined young man. Now living in his hometown of Sterling, Colorado, he is still fueled by a passion to better himself in all aspects of life.

Born missing the lower half of both legs as well as his entire left hand, a condition known as tri-amelia, Salinas has never slowed down and welcomes the challenge. After high school graduation, he took a year off to work for his dad as a welder.

“I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do with my career. I started thinking that I should start applying to colleges and got a bunch of offers to wrestle,” Salinas said. “I decided to pick the one back home (in Colorado).”

Accepted at Northeastern Junior College, the natural athlete wanted to pursue a sports medicine degree and become a physical therapist. He began his studies and joined the wrestling team. But in his sophomore year, COVID-19 flipped everything upside down.

“I had started practicing and getting ready for tournaments. COVID hit and ended our season pretty quick,” Salinas said.

Like many college students living on-campus, Salinas was sent home during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, moving in with his girlfriend’s parents before getting a place of his own. Full virtual learning proved too onerous for Salinas to maintain and he withdrew from his classes, a decision abetted by the arrival of a new wrestling coach.

“I didn’t get along with him very well and some of my teammates started picking fights with me. So, I thought, well this is not for me anymore,” he said. “I ended up getting a job in welding.” The change was a bright spot for Salinas, but he developed pain in his legs from being on his prosthetics more than eight hours a day. Using his only hand to do the work, an injury put him on worker’s compensation, and he was eventually terminated.

“It’s a learning process for me. You have to stay positive,” Salinas said. “I’m going to continue to figure things out and move forward.”

Noah Salinas wrestled in his senior year at Maricopa High School. “I want to be doing physical therapy and just help people,” he says today. Photo by Victor Moreno

‘JUST TRY ANYWAY’

At Maricopa High School, Salinas tried to play football, but didn’t compete because coaches didn’t want him to get hurt. In his senior year, he went back to the mat and had a nearly even record, pinning six opponents.

Salinas keeps in contact with close friends and family and stays in touch with the McDill family, who hosted him during his senior year so he could graduate from MHS after his parents had to move for work reasons. He keeps up with local news and encourages future MHS students to try out every club and sport they can, no matter how daunting it may seem.

“There’s plenty of sports and activities. Even if you think you might not do well, just try anyway,” he said. Salinas plans on going back to school this fall to work on his degree, perhaps back at Northeastern or a different junior college.

“I want to be doing physical therapy and just help people,” he said. “Even if I’m not doing wrestling or any sport, I just want to get a degree and be happy in life, working in something I can retire doing.”

NOAH SALINAS
Age: 21
Residence: Sterling, Colorado
Occupation: Unemployed
Education: 3 years of college
Favorite Maricopa memory: Sports. I love the energy and pride of the Maricopa family.

This story appears in the March issue of InMaricopa magazine.

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