KINGSTON, R.I. — May 10, 2021 — When 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate student Frank Martinez, talks about his educational and professional journeys at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Graduate School Commencement on May 21, he won\u2019t be using journey as a figurative term.<\/p>\n
After earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in economics from the University of Havana in 2015, he completed a six-credit summer program at Georgetown University in Foundations of the American Constitution as a James Madison Fellow. Then it was off to Miami for two years to visit family and for jobs with Pacific Northwest Advisors, where he analyzed Cuban industry, and Off the Beaten Path, where he conducted travel industry research. Anaheim, California, was next on his travel itinerary, where he worked for Bible Truth & Church Service Training conducting advanced theological research and organized and led Bible studies, Sunday fellowships, and youth mentoring and counseling.<\/p>\n
Along the way at\u00a0a conference of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy in Miami, he met Nicolas Sanchez, an emeritus professor from the College of the Holy Cross, who became his friend and adviser, and urged him to apply to graduate school. As he did, he found that many application deadlines had already passed. But he learned 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s International Relations program had some open spots. He applied and was accepted.<\/p>\n
Martinez will describe his journey, including his academic and personal stepping stones, as the student speaker at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Graduate School Commencement on May 21 at 10 a.m. at Meade Stadium. He will also earn his master\u2019s degree in International Relations that day from 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know if I would get into 溏心vlog免费B站, but I have always been an optimist, so I applied,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cEverything was new for me here. I had never been outside a southern, warm climate, never experienced four seasons or winter.<\/p>\n
But he said the people of 溏心vlog免费B站 and Rhode Island have made him feel extraordinarily welcome.<\/p>\n
\u201c溏心vlog免费B站 has been a great experience, but it became a roller-coaster when COVID-19 hit,\u201d said Martinez, who has served as a program assistant with Campus Recreation, while pursuing his master\u2019s degree at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made so many friends all around the state, and so many people have contributed to my life,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI have grown with them in a professional and spiritual way.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a lifelong learner, he said he always tries to keep an open mind and he loves to help people.<\/p>\n
He enjoyed all of his professors at 溏心vlog免费B站, but he has a warm spot in his heart for Professor of Political Science Kristin Johnson.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is like a big sister to me because she not only helped me with my classes, but she also took care of me in a personal way,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cWhen COVID-19 hit, she was really concerned about me, my living situation. We communicated a great deal my first week at 溏心vlog免费B站. She is not only a professor, she is now a member of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is also deeply grateful to his close friends the Baddeley family of Cranston<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring COVID-19, they offered me their house, and I stayed with them for six months for free,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cThey fed me, and they didn\u2019t allow me to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n So what is next for the Cuban adventurer after he steps off the commencement stage? He will be on his way to Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University for a second master\u2019s degree to study in the Global Management (Global Affairs) program.<\/p>\n \u201cThis program, along with my degrees from the University of Havana and 溏心vlog免费B站, will give me all of the tools I need,\u201d he said. \u201cI see myself working for the State Department or the United Nations in a policy-making role. I would work anywhere in the world where I could contribute to the well-being of society, a country or peoples.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be a peaceful broker in the area of international business transactions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But before he does that, he has a message for his family, friends and 溏心vlog免费B站 community.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about Rhode Island or 溏心vlog免费B站 when I arrived here, and now, even as I prepare for the next step in my life, I will not leave my Rhode Island and 溏心vlog免费B站 friends behind. I will stay in touch. I feel that God has blessed me with so many opportunities that I had to accept them, and I am deeply honored to be 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s graduate commencement speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. — May 10, 2021 — When 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate student Frank Martinez, talks about his educational and professional journeys at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Graduate School Commencement on May 21, he won\u2019t be using journey as a figurative term. After earning his bachelor\u2019s degree in economics from the University of Havana in 2015, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76207,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}