Conversations with the Inspiring Andrea Martínez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Martínez.

Andrea, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My personal journey begins with my family’s journey. My parents were Venezuelan immigrants studying in the U.S. Aside from a few years of my early childhood spent in Venezuela, I was raised within a Venezuelan household residing in the U.S., thus founding my hyphenated story.

As a family, we moved often, so I quickly learned to adapt to a changing environment. As an adult, I now believe this experience helped instill my love for travel, experiencing new places and meeting new people.

I obtained my bachelor’s degree from Agnes Scott College. I look back at those four years fondly, realizing now that they marked me both personally and professionally. I thrived in an environment that centered the woman’s experience and voice, an environment which I had not experienced and had not known I so desperately needed. I especially appreciated the ways in which I was pushed academically to ask questions and think critically. The skills that I developed and strengthened while attending Agnes Scott College helped make me the person that I am today.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has had its ups and downs in so many ways. During the valleys, I often struggled to find perspective or to feel grounded. Years later, I can see that many of those particularly challenging moments marked me in significant ways and created a stronger version of myself each time.

As a young woman of color, child of immigrants finding her voice and place in society, I often found that one or more of these identities could create additional challenges for me. When I was younger, I sometimes would dim aspects of myself to blend in and draw less attention to myself. But I quickly learned that not coming to the table as my true, whole self was inauthentic, exhausting, and ultimately, hurting me.

My advice for women is to surround yourself with “your people” that create safe, bold spaces to be yourself and explore who you might grow into. I am who I am today because of my people – my family, friends, mentors, and colleagues. Secondly, continually and actively practice self-love; it is a powerful, revolutionary act when so many things in society thrive off of your self-hatred. Finding ways to break those cycles is incredibly empowering.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Between finishing my undergraduate studies and entering the nonprofit workforce, I served in Ecuador for two years with the Peace Corps. Serving as a rural community health volunteer in an indigenous village in the Andes is one of the experiences that I am most proud of. People will often describe the experience as “the hardest job you’ll ever love,” and I whole-heartedly agree with that sentiment.

I returned in the heart of the recession and struggled not only to find employment but also to adapt back into society after being gone for a couple of years. I would spend my days searching for employment, writing cover letters and updating my resume, over and over again, while I worked in a restaurant at night. It was not exactly what I had envisioned upon my return. Eventually, I was able to get my foot in the door and found my home in the nonprofit sector.

I am currently employed with Habitat for Humanity International, working in marketing and outreach. The majority of my professional experience has been in the nonprofit world, in communications, international development, administration, and public relations. I especially love working in this field, connecting to the mission of the organizations and feeling as though you are contributing to a greater good. I am also currently working towards my master’s in public health at Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University.

My diverse experiences have made me who I am and help set me apart from others.

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
My hyphenated life experience has taught me how to adapt to a changing environment. I have also learned that multiple realities can co-exist. I am both fully Venezuelan and also fully U.S. American. I am both a woman as is and can also question what it means to be a woman. I am both a person of color who experiences microaggressions and systemic racism while also benefit from the system that favors lighter skin tones.

To that end, I am also acutely aware of how identity and power interplay within systems, be that societal, organizational or interpersonal systems. That growing understanding helps me realize where I fall, where others fall, who is left out, and what role I can play to help change it to be more inclusive and expansive.

Contact Info:

• Twitter: @andreanoricel

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