By way of student vote, Junior Martinez was recently elected Salt Lake Community College’s student body president for 2018-19.
Martinez was born in Mexico, in the state of Michoacán. He moved to the United States when he was nine years old and graduated from Hunter High School. He is pursuing a degree in business administration and entrepreneurship and dreams of owning his own business.
Martinez thanks some bullies for his love to stay fit.
“I love working out. I’m a gym rat,” he says. “I was actually a really chubby kid and [faced] some bullying [from] that, so I started going to the gym and I fell in love with it.”
Martinez says he ran for president because he felt he was prepared and wants to get students more involved with their school, beyond just going to classes.
“We have a lot of opportunities for students that they aren’t aware of, as well as resources like the health and counseling center, the tutors; just basic things like that can make the college experience a lot easier,” he says.
Martinez feels students would be more likely to get involved with the student association (SLCCSA) if they knew more about the organization and the events they host.
“I’ve noticed at our student life events [that] we don’t promote who we are as much, so that’s one thing we can work on. People just leave not knowing who was the one who brought this event together, even though they loved the event,” he says.
Martinez also wants to improve advertising to make the events more appealing and more relatable to students.
Lastly, Martinez hopes to increase SLCC alumni participation in the Pathways Program by encouraging them to share their first-hand experiences with current students.
“[I hope] to get alumni to come talk to students about how they got through college, and the steps and challenges they had to overcome to get to where they are,” he says.
Martinez is looking forward to making a difference at SLCC, and he is going to do all he can to get the students more involved.
“I feel like just being more aware of what’s in your school can make you a little bit more involved. Try to see all the opportunities that we have available here for you,” Martinez says. “And don’t let anyone decide your future; be the author of your own story.”
