Abraham Martinez was a sophomore in high school when he first visited Virginia Tech as part of the inaugural Spring Fling event hosted by the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED) in 2008. Follow-up for Spring Fling participants includes an invitation to a Pre-College Initiative event, the College of Engineering Open House, and finally, in their senior year, Fall Visitation. Martinez came to each of these events and says his attendance and involvement in the program were big influences on his decision to attend Virginia Tech. He decided engineering was for him in his junior year of high school.
A sophomore in mechanical engineering, Martinez has already held an internship position as a manufacturing engineering at General Motors. The process of obtaining that internship was a huge learning experience for him. He attended EXPO, totally unprepared, but he rebounded by tapping into his resources - Career Services for preparing his resume, attendance at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) national conference where he participated in workshops and networked with company representatives. During his holiday break, GM called with an internship position offer which Martinez considered his "Christmas present."
When asked the best thing about being a VT engineering student, he said, "People hold you in a very high regard once they know you are from Virginia Tech. Not only do companies recognize the name, but I can't tell you how many times I have had encounters with random strangers who have seen me in Hokie apparel and started a conversation about VT."
In addition to Spring Fling, Martinez also participated in CEED's summer bridge program, Student Transition Engineering Program (STEP) and is currently the treasurer of the VT chapter of SHPE. As he continues to grow and learn in his academic career, Martinez offers some words of wisdom, "I think the most important thing about being a student is developing a balance. Well-roundedness is an important aspect of being a good student. It is possible to be well rested, have a social life, and excel academically but only if you plan for it. CEED helped me to discover my balance before I started college but many students don't find theirs until weeks into the semester and some even later than that. The quicker you establish a balanced routine, the more likely you are to succeed."