Katherine 马丁内斯 has made a big impact relatively quickly at bet8体育娱乐入口.
She received national recognition for her efforts on Friday, when she was named the Student Veteran of the Year by the Student 退伍军人 of America (SVA).
马丁内斯, the first female president of ODU's SVA chapter, 是该奖项的10名决赛选手之一吗, which was presented at the 14th annual SVA national conference in Orlando, 佛罗里达.
“这是个好消息!" said Robert Clark, ODU's director of military activities. 他说:“我知道她肯定能得奖. She has done so much in such a short period of time to help make our SVA chapter the best there is. 和她一起工作很愉快."
马丁内斯, a senior who transferred to ODU from Tidewater 社区 College in the fall of 2020 and is majoring in sociology and criminal justice, was recognized for her "outstanding leadership by a student veteran during the past year,SVA说. "This award represents the best of the student veteran community and the epitome of character, 奖学金, 和成就, 在今天的退伍军人学生中."
“凯瑟琳是一位杰出的学生领袖, 这个奖是当之无愧的,Kristal Kinloch-Taylor说, ODU军事联系中心主任. "Katherine works tirelessly to ensure student veterans and military students have a voice on campus."
马丁内斯, a California native, joined the Navy in 2015 and was stationed in Norfolk. She served until 2019 as a sonar technician with duty stations aboard the USS Winston S. Churchill and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center.
“我带来激情。, 知识, and experience that is beneficial to other chapters and national partners,她说. "This includes strategies to increase diversity, 股本, inclusion and cultural awareness to and for student veterans; establishing relationships to help student veterans as well as the veteran community-at-large tackle the many hurdles they face on a daily basis."
马丁内斯, 谁是TCC SVA分会的主席, has been involved in serving the community on and off campus - from placing flags at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day to packing backpacks for 600 children to participating in on-campus supply drives. Her initiatives have included an Operation Legacy Project with the Travis Manion Foundation, organizing meetings with the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore and other veteran service organizations, and the Bring a Buddy event that normalizes having an honest conversation about mental health.
三年了, she was chairman for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Out of the Darkness Walk for Virginia Beach.
马丁内斯, who lost a mentor to suicide, has served as a counselor on the Crisis Text Line.
In 2020, she was among 48 students selected nationwide for G.I. Jobs 2020 Inaugural Student Veteran 领导 Awards.
“凯瑟琳是服务的典范, 不仅仅是老自治领, 但对她的社区来说, 还有退伍军人学生,——金姆·布灵顿, advisor to the ODU chapter of the Student 退伍军人 of America, wrote in a letter nominating 马丁内斯 for the SVA national award. "Her focus is on serving veterans through barriers like educational access and mental health. Her leadership has created partnerships with local organizations like Salvage USA, 目的之路, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, Pale Horse Coffee -a locally owned veteran coffee house - VFW, HUD-VASH, 以及其他弗吉尼亚SVA分会. Katherine epitomizes grit; she works past incredible personal odds."
马丁内斯, who has served as a community outreach officer for ODU's SVA chapter, feels that winning this award "will provide a stronger platform on a local, 区域和国家层面."
"As a first-generation student and female veteran, I believe that my experiences and background will resonate with other student veterans, especially those who come from minoritized identities like myself,她补充道. "I am a fighter, and I will continue to fight to make the experiences of student veterans better."
