Thansewi Martinez

High School Math Teacher at Santa Fe Indian School 

Bachelor's Degree, Mechanical Engineering

Tell us what experiences influenced you to pursue a STEM career?

There are so many experiences that influenced me to pursue a STEM career.

My grandfather – I was really close with my grandfather throughout my life. He was a machinist and worked for Eberline Instruments in Santa Fe, NM. He talked a lot about the jobs he worked on. He was involved in machining parts for the microwave oven, NASA projects, and the atomic bomb. He once told me that he also worked with one of the founders of Texas Instruments.

My teachers – All my math and science teachers from middle school to high school and even through college saw that I was good at math. They encouraged me to apply to summer math and science programs. My teachers had conversations with me about pursuing a degree in engineering and motivated me to participate in programs like the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES).

Tell us about your college experiences (triumphs, and challenges)?

My biggest challenge in school was not being able to ask for help. I thought I could do all the work on my own. It was not until I realized that I was not going to pass one of my semesters and I did not know how I was going to tell my mom that I was not going to return back to school. That was one of the most difficult things I had to do because she used to ask me how I was doing in class and I would tell her that everything was going fine and I was passing all my classes with a ‘B’ which was far from true. This was a good experience because it taught me to be truthful and honest with myself. I had never failed in school before and I was embarrassed to face the fact that I was not understanding what was going on in a lot of my classes. I refused to ask for help from my teachers or to attend tutoring. I lost my financial aid and all my scholarships; it was a scary feeling because I had no idea of what I was going to do next.

During the time I was out of school, I worked at the Camel Rock Casino, then at a clothing store in the mall. Customer service is a tough job and that is when I realized I needed to go back to school. I attended Northern New Mexico College and then reapplied to the University of New Mexico.

There were many times I wanted to give up after returning to UNM but this time I made sure to ask for help. One of my most triumphant days in my life was receiving my bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Pit in 2004! It took a lot of hard work and I struggled; but it was worth it!

What’s one STEM project that you worked on that you were passionate about?

When I was at Northern NM College, there was a summer program offered to minority students through New Mexico State University. I applied and was accepted thinking I was going to get a mentor in the field of engineering. The mentor was taken and I had a few other professors to choose from. The subject that caught my eye was plant genetics. I have never been one who liked life science/biology, but I thought I would give it a try. I worked on campus at a lab called PGEL (Plant Genetics Engineering Laboratory) under Dr. Carol Potenza and Dr. Champa Gopalan. From my understanding Dr. Gopalan identified the gene in the glow worm that makes it glow and she successfully transplanted that gene into a plant/legume which made the plant/legume glow. My responsibility for that summer was to take care of some of the tobacco plants and run DNA fingerprint tests on the tobacco plants. I enjoyed working at the lab daily and writing down my observations about the plants. It was a great responsibility and I almost changed my major to biology because of this experience. If it was not for the support of Dr. Anthony Sena and Dr. Arlene Antilla from Northern New Mexico Community College, I am not sure I would have had such an awesome experience.

What does self-care look like to you?  Is it free time, hobbies, and/or interests?

Self-care for myself is taking time out for myself and learning to leave my work at work once I am at home. I enjoy going to the movies with my husband, especially Marvel movies and watching YouTube videos; playing puzzle games, like sudoku.

What is one piece of practical advice you would give to a middle school student wanting to pursue a STEM Career?

Never give up; struggling is a good thing, we all have to struggle to succeed in what we want to do. Ask for help; be honest with yourself; believe in yourself and do not procrastinate 😊.