Tanya Cespedes is a dual enrollment student at both Timpview and Provo High School. You might recognize her for her role as the female lead, Esmeralda, in Timpview’s fall production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Tanya is an excellent student with an average GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.5. Through and through Tanya exceeds by being an incredible actress, maintaining an above-average GPA, and also by being a friend to everyone she meets.

Tanya, being a dual enrollment student, splits her time between Provo High School and Timpview High School. She made a difficult decision earlier this year. She mentioned that “[She] felt like [she] wasn’t being seen in [her] drama departments [at Provo Highschool], and was being treated unfairly due to [her] commitment to another theater group. That affected [her] not getting into some shows because [her] director thought he knew the best for [her]”. Tanya beat the odds and made the choice to enroll at Timpview. So far she is really enjoying her time. She “really likes the drama class here, and the teacher seems to be very prepared, and knows what he is doing”. As the school year goes on she is excited to gain more theater experience, and to start working with different people in different environments. Tanya loves theater because she knows that it can inspire and “save people.” Theater to her is an “exquisite form of art, and it can send such a strong message,” she enjoys how much it helps people.

Outside of school, Tanya is a member of another acting group called Acting Up. Acting Up is the SCERA Youth Theatre’s national award-winning high school company, for grades 10-12 who are more serious about acting. Tanya is very dedicated to theater but enjoys quality time with family and friends as well.

Being one of the leads in Timpviews production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tanya is still very focused in all of her classes to make sure she gets her schoolwork done in class. Home is where she tries to rest and reset, so she tries to be as productive as she can in her classes while at school.

After high school, Tanya plans to continue her acting career and continue to be a part of the theater community. Currently, she is still undecided if she wants to go to college or if she wants to go to New York City and try to start a career out there. 

When asked the question, “Who is someone you look up to?”, Tanya mentioned her brother. Daniel Cespedes is Tanya’s older brother, who has been a big inspiration to her. Daniel does musical theater and acting as well, and has “always been very supportive of [her]”. He has always encouraged Tanya and has been a major part of Tanya’s acting career. It’s great for Tanya and her brother because it gives them something to bond over. 

Tanya is a big inspiration to many students at both Provo and Timpview High School. She is courageous, intelligent, independent, and an aspiring actress. Some of her advice to her peers is “To always go with the flow with what life throws at you. Everything happens for a reason, and everything will work itself out. You just have to be patient with yourself”.