CARISSA MARTINEZ
“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” -Audrey Hepburn
Compassion, charisma and charm are the three c’s that Carissa Martinez lives by. Valuing those three simple words are what inspired her to advocate and set an example for herself and others. Martinez understands that character is key and believes that it is impossible to get anywhere in life if you do not have a positive mindset. She is inspired to pursue a life filled with opportunities and hopes to create a future based on happiness with family and friends.
Family plays a huge role in who Martinez is today. She grew up with two amazing parents who always did their best to try and provide opportunities for her and her younger brother. Without their influence Martinez would not be even half the person she is today. Both parents set their expectations extremely high from a young age which made it routine to never settle for the bare minimum in any occasion.
From a young age, she was fortunate enough to be able to travel the world where she visited Spain, London and Jamaica. These travels created lasting memories and she dreams of living in Barcelona one day. She loves the high prevalence of fashion, people and culture which interests and appeals to her. Martinez wants to work in the beauty industry as a public relations manager, where she can not only advocate for an amazing beauty brand but also travel and organize their events worldwide. Martinez believes that there is so much to experience around the world and she hopes to build a career out of it wherever her aspirations take her.
Growing up she was highly involved in sports where she played soccer for the majority of her life and ran track in high school. Sports helped build the determined mindset that she tries to use in every situation. Although she is no longer involved in athletics, she loves staying healthy and consistently going to the gym.
Martinez is currently studying at her dream school, the University of Southern California. Ever since she knew what college was Martinez knew that USC was the school for her. Since her family have had USC football season tickets since she was one month old, she would visit the campus numerous times throughout the year and every time it never failed to amaze her. Getting in though was not easy. Martinez had got denied senior year of high school and she was convinced that her life was over. Although she had gotten into other schools, she knew that she would not have been as satisfied than if she was at USC, so studied for a year at Mount San Antonio College, near her hometown of Diamond Bar, California. That year was not easy, and she faced many obstacles where she doubted if she had made the right decision going to a community college with the chance of getting denied again from USC. Within that year, Martinez worked at Chick-fil-A while being a full-time student, along with helping take and pick up her little brother from school.
When Martinez found out she got into USC, tears of joy automatically came streaming down her face. Now, she currently lives walking distance away from school and maintains two jobs on campus where she works in the General Education Office and serves as an Annenberg Admissions Ambassador Intern where she represents the school of communication and journalism. She could not be happier in her current positions, especially while attending the college of her dreams.
Since Martinez grew up in Southern California her whole life, she loves visiting the beach and playing with her two German shepherds. Martinez is ambitious and hopes to explore more of the world in her future. She is passionate about her interest in the beauty and lifestyle industry and hopes to have opportunities to story tell while captivating others.