Pedro Jesús Martínez with Dr. Jan McVicker (left) and Kim Mead-Colegrove.
Pedro Jesús Martínez, a May 2025 graduate double majoring in Psychology (B.S.) and Ethnic and Gender Studies, with a Spanish minor, is the April recipient of the Honors Program Student of the Month Award.
A first-generation student from New York City, who has been deeply and continuously engaged on campus as a student leader, advocate, and intern while also excelling in his academic pursuits, Mr. Martínez was nominated for this honor by two campus employees who have worked closely with him: Kimberly Mead-Colegrove, the director of the Full Opportunity Program (FOP); and Dr. Jeanette McVicker, who is the coordinator of Ethnic and Gender Studies (EGS) and a professor in the Department of English.
Ms. Mead-Colgrove calls Mr. Martínez “the shining star of success,” noting that “From the moment he arrived on campus as a first-year student [in the Full Opportunity Program], it was his goal to take advantage of everything the campus had to offer.” Getting to know Mr. Martínez “through long conversations about his career path, his family, being a first-generation college student and how that was a driving force in his ambition to succeed,” Ms. Mead-Colgrove witnessed how he “never shied away from putting the time in and working beyond his potential. FOP opened a door for Pedro and through his perseverance and determination, he pushed that door open as far as he could and took advantage of every opportunity available to him.”
She continues, “In doing so, he knew he would gain valuable experience and it would make him a better person. Four years later, his involvement has absolutely shaped who he is today. He has become a leader, an activist, a scholar. Pedro holds leadership positions in multiple clubs on campus. He is President of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology; Vice President of Chess Club; Secretary of Latinos Unidos; and a member of Sigma Delta Pi, the Spanish Honor Society; the University Judicial Board, and Club Soccer. Additionally, he has volunteered his time in the Fredonia community at the soup kitchen and as a village ambassador. He has also received several scholarships, transferred into the Honors Program and has been a Dean's List student every semester.”
Mr. Martínez has also “held several internships that have provided the space for him to engage in both campus and community programs to acquire practical skills to use toward current and future problem solving. He served as a legal intern with the Law Offices of Sheila Hahn in Fredonia, NY, where he helped prepare legal documents for asylum cases and translated from Spanish to English between client and attorney. He was a PROS Intern at The Resource Center in Dunkirk, NY, where he facilitated group counseling sessions and goal setting for clients with various mental health diagnoses, and as an Assistant Counselor at Southern Tier Environments for Living, Inc., in Dunkirk, Martínez provided mental health support for clients while they were reaching their recovery goals. Additionally, as an intern for International Student Services on campus he developed programming skills to promote a sense of belonging and connectedness for our international student population.”
As Dr. McVicker remarks, Mr. Martínez, who is serving as an EGS program intern this semester, has also become a powerful advocate for multicultural and multilingual students at Fredonia. Through his leadership role with Latinos Unidos, he has supported Latino awareness and culture on campus and, as “a recipient of the Rosa Parks Scholarship this year [who] is very proud of his Mexican heritage,” “Pedro openly shares this heritage with others who are interested in learning and supporting his culture. And, as Ms. Mead-Colegrove notes, as an undergraduate Teaching Assistant for the Department of World Languages and Cultures, he collaborated with the instructor and provided support for students in class.” Equally, “he has spent a good amount of time supporting and interacting with students from a wide range of cultures and backgrounds including facilitating the ‘Buddy Program’ to assist international students in navigating American culture.”
McVicker continued, “He has also met with Dr. [Natalie] Gerber to brainstorm ways to best represent students in the Honors Program and their accomplishments,” and “he has vocalized his experiences in so many important genres and venues this year…. He volunteered to be a speaker at the EGS symposium, where he talked about the importance of campus efforts to truly make students from Latino/a/e backgrounds welcome, in more than the usual superficial ways we tend to do that. He submitted a poem for Rosa Parks Scholarship about the impact of his Mexican heritage, something he has suppressed on campus until this semester. He shared his poem ‘My México’ with me and I encouraged him to submit it to Quirk: the national undergraduate literary and visual arts journal at the University of Incarnate World in San Antonio, Texas: it was accepted! and this experience, plus his symposium talk, have provided him with the spaces to reclaim his heritage, and to be a very effective advocate for future students. He also spoke at the Intercultural Center 'graduation' on May 2; and his speech…is yet another powerful articulation of the ways in which he has restored pride in his heritage, and his strong sense of engaging in social change to improve the negative experiences he has had as a Fredonia student. He has found his professional voice in his chosen field of psychology (he presented this spring as well at SURC and OSCAR) but also his deeper, human voice, one shaped by his commitment to social justice and genuine diversity.”
She adds, “It has been a very moving experience to watch Pedro rediscover/reintegrate his 'entire' self this year. His advocacy for multi-cultural and multi-lingual counseling/psychology and his important research on how students of Latino/a/e heritage survive in majority white institutions is impressive.”
Mr. Martínez presented some of this research via “Ponte Las Pilas: Strategies to Enhance Cultural Competence in Higher Education,” at the first Ethnic and Gender Studies Symposium and at the OSCAR Expo. Additionally, while at Fredonia, he has conducted research with Dr. Elizabeth Mahar on pornography preferences resemblance to a romantic partner and its impacts on relationship satisfaction. He has presented this research under the project name “What's Your Type?: Resemblance of Pornography Preference in a Romantic Partner and Relationship Satisfaction” at numerous conferences, including SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference at SUNY Binghamton, the OSCAR Expo at Fredonia and at the Western New York Psychology Undergraduate Conference at UB.
A graduate of Urban Assembly Maker Academy in New York City, Mr. Martínez advises current students to “Be yourself, be unapologetic, and don't be too hard on yourself. You make decisions based on what you knew in the moment, anything that happens after is just a part of the learning process.”
Relatedly, he appreciates that “Fredonia's small-campus size ensures that your voice is heard, making opportunities for academic excellence more accessible. I'm grateful to have been able to conduct my own psychological research project, whereas, at larger institutions this may have been more difficult to achieve. If you want to stand out, ruffle some feathers, and make a name for yourself, Fredonia is the place to start that process.”
And, as his example demonstrates, you won’t be alone in this process. Rather, as Mr. Martínez conveys, you will likely find, as he has, “an incredible collection of beautiful people that have helped make my time at Fredonia as intellectually and socially fulfilling as possible.” They include faculty and staff – Dr. McVicker, Dr. Juan De Urda, Jacob Czelusta, Dr. Carmen Rivera, Dr. Brian Boisvert, Thuy Karafa, Dr. Andy Karafa, Dr. Mahar, Dr. Dani McMay, Dr. Lisa Denton, Ms. Mead-Colegrove, and Ronny Nissen – and fellow students: Ché Dixon, Kristina Hoth, Asia Toyryla, John Leahy, Krista Kolberg, Andrea Florentino, Caleb Schwab, Edwin Sánchez, Yei Thek Wang, Donghyun Kim, Zih-Hong Lee, Lucas West, Valeria Gracian, Bijen Tandukar, Cloud Moon Vargas, Noah Meyer, Cesar Firmat, Lenieth Vélez-Olmo, Jacob Duran and Shania Ageda.
Of course, he also notes thanks to “my lovely family, the Martínez and Leal, both back in New York and in Mexico, because despite being separated by distance, they have always demonstrated unconditional love and support and sacrifice to help me be where I am today.”
Mr. Martínez plans to pursue “a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and work with underprivileged Spanish speaking populations back in New York City.” One day, he hopes to open up his own “clinic and build a team of highly-skilled therapists to treat people with a wide range of mental health diagnoses.” He notes as well, “It's been a recurrent thought lately, that I'd like to run for mayor of New York City as a big milestone in my journey advocating for social justice.”
The Honors Student of the Month Program is a collaboration between the Honors Program and Honors House, which is part of the Office of Residence Life. The student selected by the committee as the Honors Student of the Month will receive a gift card to the Bookstore and a certificate. In addition, the student’s name will be engraved on a plaque that will hang in the Office of Residence Life.
