Patrick Martinez: Paving the Way for Change Against the Odds

Patrick Martinez | he/him/his | CLAS ‘08

B.A. in African and African-American Studies and Latin American Studies

Patrick Martinez (he/him/his) attended UVA from 2004-2008, and graduated with a double major in African and African-American Studies and Latin American Studies. He currently is the Assistant Director of Admissions at Columbia University, in New York City.

As a first-generation college student, applying to college was uncharted territory for Patrick. He knew that financial aid was going to be the deciding factor for which school he attended, and at the time of his applications, UVA had a reputation as the best in-state school, in addition to being ranked 21st in the nation. He applied Early Decision, and after his acceptance, it was a done deal - he was heading to Charlottesville.

Patrick had a sense of confidence in how his first year would be after gaining some initial experience in UVA’s Summer Enrichment Program between his 10th and 11th grade years. Known as “nerd camp” to his friends, Patrick viewed the enrichment program as an opportunity to take college-level courses and meet new people. During the program, he took a class on political activism, which featured a series of guest lecturers including prominent UVA professor Larry Sabato. Patrick loved his experiences that Summer, and through it formed an idea of what he anticipated college life would like.

Yet, when Patrick arrived on grounds as a first-year, the environment he entered was different than he had expected. He recalls that one of the most difficult adjustments was acclimating to the academic rigor and level of preparation needed for college courses. There were many differences between the experience of the Summer Enrichment Program and Patrick’s new life as a UVA student. While Patrick thought that all students felt similarly to him, he noticed that other students seemed to be more prepared. It was as if this preparation was innate for some, while for him it would take the entirety of his first-year to master. All students who attend UVA are high-achieving, and at the top of their class. It isn’t until you arrive that you realize that you are no longer that high school student anymore. Compounded with some bad advice, which led him to take classes that weren’t best for his academic success, Patrick struggled to gain his footing. Quickly, this pattern became discouraging and Patrick had to fight to tuck those feelings away and not let it get the best of him.

“It seemed like there was a difference in experience between those who went to private and magnet schools, compared to others at high schools with fewer resources...It seemed like they got the memo.”

Patrick needed an outlet away from academics, but more importantly, he needed something that made him feel like he was making a positive change in his community. This interest sparked his journey to find passion-driven student organizations to join. Patrick first discovered the Latino Student Union, which hosted a number of cultural events surrounding Latinx culture. In his time spent with the organization, he wished it would do more to advocate for the needs of Latinx students. It was around this moment of realization that he heard about La Alianza, an organization of presidents of Latinx-affliated groups at the University, with the overall purpose of collaboration and partnership on events and initiatives. As the organization evolved, the founding members were searching for students to be the first chair of the organization. Confident in his abilities and passionate to make a difference, he applied for the position and became La Alianza’s chair in his second-year. Patrick was also a resident of La Casa Bolivar his second and third-year and is an Hermano of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Incorporated.

During his tenure as chair of La Alianza, Patrick wanted the Latinx community to be more politically active and more collaborative with other multicultural organizations. Thus, he began conversations with organizations affiliated with the Minority Rights Coalition (MRC), like the Black Student Alliance (BSA), Asian Student Union (ASU), Queer Student Union (QSU), and Feminism Is For Everyone (FIFE). As the chair of La Alianza, he was a member of the MRC board which he recalls as an incredible experience, as he was able to meet and collaborate with other multicultural student leaders. This drove his passion to build a strong and united Latinx community at the University, through both recruitment efforts and institutional change. La Alianza hosted events in collaboration with the Office of the Dean of Students and the Office of Admissions for Fall and Spring Blast, which are events for prospective and admitted Latinx students and their families. He wanted to show prospective Latinx students that although their community wasn’t large, they had a strong Peer Mentoring Program and community organizations that could make UVA feel like home.

Patrick and other students at the University also wanted to push for increased services and resources for Latinx students. Some of these resources included the creation of an Office of Hispanic and Latino Affairs (OHLA), similar to the Office of African-American Affairs (OAAA). Their goals also incorporated the creation of a Center for Latinx students, which would act as a safe space for all Latinx-identifying people at the University. Patrick and other student leaders proposed increased academic resources as well to offer additional support to Latinx students.

In 2005, the Asian Pacific American Studies Minor was created, marking a monumental accomplishment for ethnic studies at the University. This inspired Patrick and other Latinx students that a Latinx Studies Minor should be created as well, and he connected with students of the Asian Student Union who advocated for the minor’s creation in order to learn more about their process. From these discussions, he realized how the process was not only difficult, but a long one at that. You needed not only faculty to teach the courses (which was difficult at a University where few professors taught courses of Latinx studies), but you also needed buy-in from administrators and faculty alike. This also demonstrated to Latinx student leaders the need for increased hiring and retention of Latinx professors, especially through the awarding of tenure (further reading found here). Students continued to petition UVA for more tenure-track faculty from marginalized communities. Despite progress Patrick and other groups have made, it should also be noted that programs focusing on ethnic studies have struggled to sustain traction. The expansion of the Asian Pacific American Studies program, for example, has not developed further after the initial 2005 success, as noted in the Asian Leaders Council #WeAreNotInvisible Report.

In conversation, Patrick and student interviewer Kayla remarked on how similar the issues past and current Latinx students have advocated for, and how very little seemed to be accomplished by the University administration in over a decade. Both agreed that institutional memory between students is a power tool which could help students during their advocacy. Kayla was also proud to tell Patrick that some of these issues that student leaders, like him, advocated for were starting to be realized, thanks to the foundation set by previous generations of students.

“Black alumni advocated for OAAA in the first-place. During my four years at UVA, I had no idea how to do that and I still don’t. But I know that alumni are super important.”

Around the same time, Patrick began taking courses in both the Sociology and African and African-American Studies departments. In these classes, he learned about the history of advocacy and how to be a better advocate himself. For Patrick, there was finally a connection between his academic courses and his passions. It “put words to feelings that I didn’t know how to express.” This inspired him to continue advocating in his role as chair of La Alianza, and ultimately when he was appointed chair of the Minority Rights Coalition during his third-year. Patrick says that this was the most rewarding part of his UVA experience. While chair of La Alianza, Patrick was also counselor in the University Judiciary Committee, which gave him access to more traditional perspectives and aspects of student life at UVA. He had the opportunity to interact with students who were more “bought in” to the University institution, and didn’t generally attend MRC-sponsored events and understand how different communities at UVA operated.

Patrick stepped into the position of MRC chair during a time when the University of Virginia began reevaluating its diversity initiatives. In the Spring of 2003, Student Council presidential candidate, Daisy Lovelace, was physically attacked on West Lawn for running as a woman of color. There were already simmering tensions, as racially-targeting incidents of hate seemed to occur on clockwork. The attack, along with other racially charged events that semester, caused the University administration to reevaluate its efforts to improve diversity. They began to search for a Chief Officer of Diversity and Equity and almost one year after the attack, the University opened the Kaleidoscope Room for Cultural Fluency in Newcomb Hall, where Daisy Lovelace cut the ribbon. This also highlighted one of the first joint initiatives between the MRC and Student Council. It provided a physical space for multicultural students to congregate and enjoy the company of friends. This partnership was a huge accomplishment for the organization, as they were still relatively young in terms of existence. It was Daisy Lovelace who had believed in the organization and their ability to support marginalized student interests. This all occurred before Patrick’s time at the University, he later acknowledged that this was the environment he entered as MRC Chair, and he hoped he could build upon the work of student leaders of the past in order to better serve the University community.

One of the most difficult parts of student activism is the limited time students have at UVA. For many minority student leaders, past initiatives begun by former students are all but lost due to student turnover. Although the administration is there for decades at times, the institutional memory amongst students often fades. It is remarkable and important to note that many of the issues Patrick and other students were advocating for from 2005 - 2008 were also mentioned in both the “Our University to Shape” proposal and the “#WeAreNotInvisible Report” in 2018, over a decade later. It is for this reason that institutional memory is critical in supporting positive student change - and it is a disservice to our communities that these initiatives have been left to the wayside for so long.

When asked about the climate on grounds during Patrick’s undergraduate career, Patrick mentioned that during the fall of his first year, George H. W. Bush was re-elected as President of the United States. This was not only a conservative time in the United States, but it was also at the University, with a center-right atmosphere. The majority of students were from white and/or high-income backgrounds.

“To be anything that wasn’t anything like that, you felt like you were standing out.”

At the same time, activists in the nation where working to legalize same-sex marriage, and the major progressive issue on campus was advocating for LGBTQ+ Rights. At this time, Massachusets was the only state to have legalized gay marriage. The Queer Student Union (QSU) and Queer & Allied Activism (QUAA), with support from the Minority Rights Coalition, advocated for the legalization of gay marriage and queer student resources, but mainly spread the message that it is okay to be queer. One of the campaigns was named “Gay? Fine by Me.” Together, they sold t-shirts and worked to spread awarenes on queer rights. During their campaign, however, there were many students that opposed their advocacy. Beginning with a student posting a “Gay? Not Fine By Me” sign in his window at Hereford College, other students held anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments, claiming it is was not acceptable to be queer, and protested the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights at UVA and beyond. These efforts weren’t organized by a specific organization, but rather were purported by a collective of conservative students.

Another challenge Patrick faced at UVA also fell within his identity. Being a Latinx student did not come without its difficulties, but it aroused pride for Patrick. Being Latinx male in college already like beating the odds, and with this in mind, succeeding in college became bigger than the dreams of his family -- it was a way to support and represent his community in a positive light.

“I saw that being a Latino male in college was bucking the trend because there were so few so when I learned that I was even prouder to represent. I knew I was going to be a first-generation college graduate, I knew that my parents went to community college and that was as far as they went. So I was already proud of myself for making it that farBut when I saw all the statistics and the numbers of Latinos in general in higher education, that's when it became more about me, my family, and my parents, but about my community in general.”

Although identifying as Latino on campus came easier, identifying as queer presented another challenge. In high school, Patrick wasn’t able to fully come to terms with his sexual orientation. Because of this, he wanted college to be different - to be the time where he could come out in a healthy way to his friends and family. He was hoping that this safe place could be UVA, but there was so much anti-LGBTQ stigma on campus and in the nation that he began to lose hope. Patrick recalls this being a very difficult time for him and for other queer-identifying students, as it felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Ironically, this made him more proud to be queer. He realized that he began to internalize this stigma by selecting clothing that wasn’t too flamboyant or feminine, or by initially attending QSU meetings in secret. Over time, Patrick began to regain his confidence and decided it was time he shared his queer identity with his friends. By his third year, he came out to his family. This was a much more difficult journey, but Patrick began to be unapologetically open about who he is. Some lights during his UVA experience, as well as other students, include “Minority Squared,” a student organization for queer students of color, and the LGBT Resource Center, which relocated to Newcomb Hall during his first year. Both of these spaces became incredible resources for him and other LGBTQ students at the university. In Virginia’s conservative climate, having adequate resources for the LGBTQ Center was difficult. It was one of the few centers in Virginia and the staff, seeing the values of the center, continued to support its students, regardless of the obstacles they faced.

“All it takes is that one person that’s a really good friend, that loves you no matter what, that gives you support - once you find that one friend, or parent, or family member, everything else is fine.”

When reflecting on the highlights of his UVA experience, Patrick fondly remembers his memories with friends on the fourth floor of Clemons Library. In a group they called “Club Clemons”, they would race around in desk chairs, shaking the vending machines for snacks. They would spend all night doing anything but work - laughing, joking, and then finally leaving at the crack of dawn. He also recalls many moments from his fourth-year, spending time with friends in his Lawn room, enjoying the day and each other’s company. At this University, Patrick recalls many difficult times at the hand of ignorance and intolerance - but it was these moments with friends that would make everything feel better.

An important reflection for Patrick from UVA is also the importance of networking. Over the years he has realized that networking doesn't have to be this gross concept, but can foster moments that change your life forever. One of his most impactful moments was meeting Christina Morell, a former Associate Vice President of Student Affairs. In their first conversation, Christina had asked Patrick “where are you from?” This is often a dreaded question for minority students, because the question could be intended to ascertain what race, ethnicity, and heritage you identify with. After Morell pried with more questions, Patrick mentioned that he was Mexican American. To Patrick’s surprise, Christina responded in fluent Spanish, letting Patrick know that she was Puerto Rican. Patrick realized that Morell wasn't trying to make him stand out in the negative way, but instead was trying to develop a deeper connection with him. He then began to ask her how she ended up in higher education, about what her career path was, and just for pure advice about being a Latinx professional. It was then that Christina gave Patrick advice that would change his life.

She suggested to Patrick that he should take a year off after graduation and do something completely different to figure out what he really loves to do. Through her guidance, he applied to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute for their post-graduate fellowship. After he was accepted into the program, he came to realize his love for politics and policy, especially surrounding Latinx communities. Patrick recalls this interaction with Morell and attributes it as the turning point in his professional career. If it was not for this connection with another Latinx professional, he may not have discovered his other career goals.

“Networking is a bond between people and you never know where that’s going to take you.”

Patrick advises all UVA students to take a chance and be willing to reach out to someone new because you never know what they'll have to say and how it could really change your life for the better. He also says to find something you’re good at and actually like doing when it comes to figuring out a major. At UVA, there is often a pressure to be the greatest person in the room and to stand out in some way. It is for this reason that Patrick thinks he tooks really challenging courses during his first and second year, even though in hindsight they weren’t the right fit. Later on in his UVA career, Patrick discovered his love for ethnic studies that drove him to double major in African and African American Affairs and American studies. Today, he serves as the Assistant Director of Admissions for Columbia University. While he didn’t come to this realization right away, his sentiment reflects the desire the Latinx students in the future will be able to navigate their UVA experiences with the knowledge of those students who paved the way before them.