Bel Martinez is a senior at St. John Neumann and she’s active both around campus and outside of school. From holding leadership positions in several clubs to bringing that leadership out to her local parish, Bel explains what she plans to do with these skills after Neumann.
What are you part of at SJN?
Bel Martinez is not only the head editor of our Celtic Times, she is also part of a plethora of clubs around school. She is one of the DeSales House Captains, the Scholar Bowl President, one of the heads of the Recycling Program, a Pro-Life Club member, and plans to be in Neumann Theater this year.
What are you part of outside of SJN?
Martinez brings her leadership skills to her local parish, as an assistant catechism teacher. Additionally, she works retail.
What do you plan on studying in college?
Bel wants to major in psychology, and minor in economics with a pre-law track. After she receives her psychology degree, she plans to get her Masters in clinical and counseling psychology, which will allow her to work as a therapist. However, she may continue on to law school and become either a criminal lawyer or a family law lawyer.
What are your top three colleges?
Martinez is really set on attending the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., and even visited the campus recently. However, if that doesn’t work out, she’s planning to attend Ave Maria University with her older brother. She’s also applying to Saint Michael’s.
How was your trip to D.C.?
Martinez visited Washington D.C. to visit the CUA campus and see the sights of the area. She said both the campus and the city were gorgeous, and she had a lot of fun. At CUA, she really liked the architecture of the campus. She described how the buildings were made out of rough stone with intricate columns. Not only did she enjoy the architecture, but the greenery and scenery around campus were gorgeous. Apart from exploring the Catholic University of America, she visited a few museums as well. Martinez explained that there were a multitude of famous presidents captured on canvases at the National Portrait Gallery, along with many other cool paintings. She also visited the National Museum of Natural History, which she said has been updated recently, but still great nonetheless.
Did you see anything unusual in D.C.? Are there any similarities between D.C. and Florida?
Bel said that she was somewhat surprised at how clean the city was and how nice the people were. While D.C. and Florida are both swamps, everything is totally different, she says.
If you could give your younger self advice, what would it be and why?
Martinez would tell her younger self not to take anything personally. Whether someone likes or dislikes her, or whether or not something good happens, she says she would tell herself it’s never personal. “No one should be able to take away your power in yourself, so don’t be so swayed by people’s opinions.”
