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Recent grad Annaliese Martinez ’21 took home several awards from Commencement and what we hope is the biggest prize—a job at Saint Mary’s. The Office of College Communications (OCC) is thrilled to have her join us in the newly created position of staff writer. Martinez honed her communication skills by working for three years with the Intercultural Center (IC) and spending two years as an OCC student-writer. She also scored three graduation awards last June.

“I’d like to thank my remarkable English and Ethnic Studies professors, the Intercultural Center, and ALLI-PAS for instilling in me the power of language, storytelling, and helping me find my voice as a leader. I’m privileged to still be a part of the Saint Mary’s community and give back by uplifting stories about the amazing things our students, staff, and faculty do everyday.”

An English and Ethnic Studies double major from Stockton, Calif., Martinez spent her time at Saint Mary’s serving as a student leader with the Intercultural Center, La Hermandad, and the Afro-Latinx/Latinx/Indigenous People’s Action Subcommittee. She served as student co-chair of the Afro-Latinx/Latinx/Indigenous People’s Action Subcommittee (ALLI-PAS), co-president of La Hermandad, and Intercultural Development Leader and Administrative Assistant for the Intercultural Center. 

Martinez also co-led the efforts to create the English Department colloquium “Re-Imagining the Narrative: Centering BIPOC Voices in Literature” last spring, which featured student work that addressed issues of interest to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. English Department students, faculty, and members of the wider SMC community attended the virtual event, which sought to reexamine the English discipline’s role in dismantling oppressive systems. 

At Commencement, Martinez received the George Robert Milliken award for service, which honors a student who has epitomized the best of leadership within our community and whose influence, ideals, and involvement will leave a lasting, positive impression on the College. She also won the Brother Leo Meehan, FSC, prize, awarded to the graduating seniors with outstanding scholastic records as English majors. 

Martinez was also named 2021-2022 Student Leader of the Year, won the IC’s Latinx Graduate Celebration Student Leadership Award, and the Institute for Latino and Latin American Studies (ILaLS) Honorable Senator María Elena Durazo Scholarship for Social Justice and Equity. She hopes to pursue an advanced degree in Comparative Literature and one day become a professor—a career path inspired by her professors at Saint Mary’s.

College Comms welcomes Martinez, who has already produced numerous stories over the summer, and we look forward to the inside-SMC knowledge she brings as a recent grad so involved in SMC’s mission.