Student veteran honored by national magazine

Tidewater Community College student Katherine Martinez is one of 48 veterans nationwide  selected to receive the inaugural 2020 Student Veteran Leadership Award presented by G.I. Jobs magazine.

This list, which honors student veterans who are making a positive impact at their school and in their communities, will be published in the August issue.

“It’s really exciting to be recognized. When you’re volunteering, you don’t think about how others perceive your efforts,” said Martinez, president of TCC’s chapter of Student Veterans of America. “I primarily focus on raising awareness on mental health and helping fellow veterans with the transition process of being active duty to veteran.”

The Navy veteran was nominated by Shelly Bearden, veterans resource liaison at the Center for Military and Veterans Education. Martinez traveled with Bearden to Los Angeles for the Student Veteran Association National Convention.

“She was in her element at the conference, going to seminars and networking with fellow veterans and employers, gathering new resources and contacts,” Bearden said. “She is a driven young woman committed to reaching out to and serving her fellow veterans who may be struggling in crisis to be there to lend a supportive ear.”

Martinez will complete her Associate of Science in Social Sciences this summer. She will transfer to Old Dominion University in the fall.

She aspires to work for the federal government as a criminologist.

“My overall goal is to gain knowledge to better advocate for communities that need resources and assistance with public policy,” she said.

GI Jobs is a national publication that has been connecting service members, veterans and their families to civilian career, education and business ownership opportunities since 2001.