Jocelyn Martinez

Graduate Support Coordinator

Hometown

Chicago, IL

What clubs and/or organizations are you involved in and what do you do?

I am involved with various organizations in higher education, some of those include NASPA, AAHHE, NACADA, and ILACHE. At Arrupe, I am a part of the Undocumented Student Career Committee.

What attracted you to Arrupe College?

As a first generation Latina in higher education, I believe representation matters. One of the main things that attracted me to Arrupe College is the population of students that we serve—mostly first generation, lower- income, or sometimes underrepresented groups of students. I am a firm believer in access to education, and Arrupe provides our students the resources needed to succeed and thrive in higher education.

How did you get involved in higher education?

I found the field of higher education almost by accident. I had a very hard time selecting a major when I was in college and I remember feeling overwhelmed by the various options available. As I graduated from undergrad I worked in non-profit but later found myself working directly with multi-racial/ multi-ethnic students pursuing higher education. I always knew I loved to help people, but I also had a strong interest for Latinx studies, so I blended my love for both and pursued my master's degree in higher education. I also had an amazing mentor that to this day helps me in my professional development in higher education.

What’s your favorite part about working at Arrupe? And the biggest challenge?

My favorite aspect about working at Arrupe would be the students and how committed they are to be in college and hearing about their future dreams and aspirations.

Education

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (BA), DePaul University (MEd)