Luis Martinez is a junior working towards a bachelor of business administration while majoring in international business with an emphasis in Spanish at West Texas A&M University. Martinez is from Pampa and is working hard to achieve all his goals.

Martinez aspires to guide others through their revenue and assets.

“I want to become a certified financial planner to help people with their investments, their budgeting, retirement or 401k,” Martinez said. “I’m more interested in helping individuals with their personal finances.”

Martinez’s immersion in various courses and his being the first in his family to attend college made him realize he wanted to help others financially.

“A lot of different explorations in college led me to pursue this field,” Martinez said. “As a first-generation college student, I really didn’t know what I wanted. I knew education was important, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do to help me get there. So, a matter of exploring different career options and routes in classes, so really just exploring a lot of classes.”

Martinez will help others figure out the intricacies of finances in his future occupation.

“This career will help other people because I’m focusing more on the relationship aspect of financial planning, and it’s going to help people that don’t know much about finances,” Martinez said. “People are putting trust in me as someone who has an educational and professional learning experience to help guide individuals and encourage them while also informing them of all the best decisions possible to make when it comes to their finances.”

Martinez knew he wanted to be able to help as many people as possible, so adding a Spanish emphasis was only fitting.

“Spanish was my first language, but then growing up, I lost it through grade school, and I wanted to get back into it, more for convenience, but also my culture as well,” Martinez said. “Secondly, I wanted to pursue Spanish because I am interested in helping people within Hispanic communities learn about wealth and finance as well.”

One thing Martinez likes about his major is its versatility.

“My favorite part of my major has been the flexibility and adaptability,” Martinez said. “I’ve been able to travel to Costa Rica, Spain and all over the world. But there’s so much flexibility with different classes, and they can cross-list and overlap, so it makes it work out.”

Martinez shares some words for those considering studying abroad.

“Studying abroad for the first time was indescribable,” Martinez said. “Studying abroad requires you to go out and do it yourself, even if you’re scared. Once you get over that hill of just getting there, it’s truly indescribable from there.”

Once Martinez graduates from WT, he plans to continue developing his education and work experience.

“I want to pursue a dual master of business administration with a master of science and finance at Texas Tech to be a certified financial planner,” Martinez said. “I’m not trying to rush it. As a college student, we have a microwave mentality and society, and we want it instantly, but that’s not how a career works. We have to take our time, and we have to learn and be patient with the process. So I want to actively pursue a joint dual degree program while also working with real-world experience as well.”

Martinez knew WT was the right school for him due to its location and financial aid.

“I came to WT because it was convenient since it’s closer to home and I was offered a full ride,” Martinez said.

WT has offered Martinez many diverse opportunities.

“Since being at WT, I’ve been given the opportunity to travel the world, have my education paid for, and build my own personal brand image because being a student at WT, I’m very well known and recognized,” Martinez said. “Not in a boastful way, but just like my work ethic is very out there, and people recognize that, so just being given the opportunities of personal connections to work, travel, and earn money while also pursuing an education has been one of the biggest blessings of my life.”

One thing Martinez enjoys about WT is the camaraderie.

“My favorite part of WT is the friendships you can make,” Martinez said. “I think friendships are the most pivotal to get you in those darkest times, so I’ve been very fortunate in the ones I’ve made here.”

Around campus, Martinez is an Engler Business Ambassador, a McNair scholar, an Attebury Honors scholar and is a member of F1RSTGEN. Aside from academics, Martinez enjoys and spends a lot of time building fellowship within his church by spending time with other believers doing activities together.

Martinez believes taking time and doing everything to your fullest is essential.

“Pick God first because no matter what you’re doing, it won’t be easy, but if it’s God willing, it’ll all work out,” Martinez said. “Also, if you’re going to do something, do it with excellence and take time to do it with excellence because you’ll never regret doing something with time and giving it your all.”