SAN MARCOS—The National Community College Hispanic Council (NCCHC) has selected Nelida Martinez, TRIO Project director, as a fellow in a year-long program to help increase the number of Hispanic people in leadership positions.
The program is designed to partner each fellow with a mentor who’s already gone through the fellowship, typically someone in a VP or president role, to meet with on a monthly basis to establish and reach goals.
These goals can range from applying to doctorate programs and preparing for dean positions or other director roles. Eventually fellows will reach areas where more Hispanic representation is needed.
Martinez is the TRIO North County Educational Opportunity Center CAST President and oversees the TRIO Educational Talent Search program at Palomar.
Before Palomar College, Martinez worked with high school students and college readiness. In overseeing her Upward Bound grants, Martinez kept up to date with students six years after graduation. It was in this time that she began to notice an unsettling pattern.
Students weren’t completing their community college education.
Despite her original goal to be a teacher, Martinez’s experience in student support programs like GEAR UP, Upward Bound, and the Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) is what connected the dots that would reveal the barriers still keeping students from graduating college.
As a first generation, low-income and undocumented student herself, Martinez understood that the options weren’t and aren’t always crystal clear for students in need.
“You know, I think there’s this expectation of, as a Latina leader, you’re going to be able to change everything, right?” said Martinez. “You’re not ever going to be able to tell your side of the story, right?”
Because community colleges serve such a diverse group of students, the NCCHC fellowship opportunity serves as a space for leaders like Martinez to uplift one another and network their way into higher education.
During the fellowship, Martinez engaged in meaningful conversations regarding the pressure felt by other Hispanic leaders like herself.
“You have to lead with integrity, and you have to make sure your values are aligned,” Martinez was told by others in the fellowship. “And when you lead with those, then you’re more than likely not going to have to tell your side of the story, as lonely as it may feel.”
Nick Matta, VP of student services at Palomar College and President Star Rivera-Lacey have both been previous fellows of the NCCHC.
“Spending a year as a fellow has gifted me with colleagues in my cohort, that I now consider family,” said Matta. “Most importantly, it helped me appreciate that my racial, cultural, and other identities are an asset to what I bring to the table.”
The fellowship opportunity is also a space where trusted faculty members can learn to make better decisions for the students they represent.
“I would not be a Superintendent/President today without the skills I learned throughout my fellowship years ago,” said Palomar President Rivera-Lacey. “I look forward to being able to provide these same opportunities to future executive administrators who are leading the nation’s most diverse provider of higher education- the California Community College System.”
With all of the progress being made, Hispanic students and staff still look toward better days and a more diverse community.
“I think somebody called it the Latino tax, where you have to prove why you deserve to be in that space,” said Martinez.
The transactions seem never-ending for Martinez.
When speaking about her hopes for students, she said “I think some of the simplest things right is to ask, to feel confident in asking.”
Having navigated her collegiate career constantly seeking resources and help as a first-generation undocumented student, Martinez understands why student voices and stories matter.
“Allowing for students to feel comfortable to ask and to have doubts, but feel like they left your area with an answer,” said Martinez. “And if it’s not the right answer, that at least they know my contact information, and I will find them that answer as much as we can.”
