从童年的悲剧到毕业典礼的胜利
Graduate Spotlight: Student Trustee 马里亚纳Luna-马丁内斯’s inspiring journey of service and leadership
Senior Biology major 马里亚纳Luna-马丁内斯 never forgot the outpouring of love and support she and her family received when her childhood home in Newark burned down years ago. That and volunteering alongside her grandmother sparked her passion for giving back.
“尽管我们拥有的那么少, sharing those resources can definitely make a big difference in someone else’s life,她说。. “My family and also my community have definitely influenced my community and public service. 在这一点上，这已经成为了第二天性.”
作为一名成员 邦纳领袖计划 at 十大博彩推荐排名州立大学 for four years, Luna-马丁内斯 gave back many times over. 从组织海滩清理, homebuilding with Habitat for Humanity and toy drives for underprivileged children, 卢娜-马丁内斯参与了几十个服务项目, 包括十大博彩推荐排名的马丁·路德·金. 服务日. She also found the time to serve in the Student Government Association as the voting student representative on the 大学 Board of Trustees – all while holding down three jobs, 作为邦纳社区合作的高级实习生, 在肖特山的靛蓝书店兼职销售, 新泽西, and part-time medical scribe at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, 新泽西.
卢娜-马丁内斯，她将在 春季毕业典礼 5月13日在保诚中心举行, 还担任过招生大使, traveled to Italy to learn about its health-care system and to Panama to assist physicians as part of the Global Medical Brigade.
“任何你需要她的地方, 她在那里,” says Bonner Leader and Service Coordinator Mikaela Guzman who supervised Luna-马丁内斯 as Bonner’s intern of Community Partnerships. “She had two additional jobs on top of Bonner and SGA and her commitments with the trustees, 不知何故, she’s also found a way to get her jobs involved in our community work. The bookstore where she works donated over 100 toys to our toy drive. She’s a hub for different connections and gets everybody involved.”
Guzman also credits Luna-马丁内斯 with organizing Bonner’s first collaboration with Next Generation Service Corps students both at Montclair and Arizona State 大学, after traveling to Arizona for the Habitat for Humanity service project.
她说:“她有天生的领导才能。. “Mariana was pretty integral in helping create tons of service opportunities for the students, getting them involved with things like the SGA and talking to them about some of the things that the foundation has to offer.”
In fact, Guzman credits Luna-马丁内斯 with making her new role as a Bonner Leader easier. “Without her, my first year would have been really difficult. 她总是乐意伸出援助之手, and she does so in a way that makes a big impact on people.”
第一代大学毕业生, Luna-马丁内斯 is grateful for all of the opportunities Montclair has afforded her, 包括在意大利的留学项目. “这绝对是一次难忘的经历, 而且没有十大博彩推荐排名, 我就不会去了,她说。.
She also credits Montclair and the Bonner program with changing her future. As a freshman, she majored in Biology because it was a subject she liked and excelled in. 在她参与了许多服务项目之后, she has decided to pursue a master’s in Urban Planning at New York 大学’s Wagner 研究生院 of Public Service.
“邦纳绝对改变了我的生活. I was involved in different projects throughout my four years that included housing insecurity, 食品不安全, and because I am a product of public service and a recipient of different resources and because of my work with Bonner, 我想从事公共服务工作.”
Luna-马丁内斯 is among the first Montclair students to win a Bonner scholarship to help cover half the cost of her master’s tuition. “她工作非常努力. The whole office was literally overjoyed when we found out that she got into graduate school,古兹曼说。.
A participant in the 邦纳领袖计划 since her freshman year, 卢娜-马丁内斯还获得了许多其他荣誉, including being named a 总统ial Scholar and a member of the Honors Program.
安娜加西亚, 那个影响卢娜-马丁内斯回馈社会的祖母, 还有几个家庭成员, will be at Commencement to celebrate their star graduate when she receives her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Leadership Development through Civic Engagement.
特约撰稿人报道 西尔维娅一个. 马丁内斯.
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