Community Corner

From Foster Kid to Honors Student: Failure Not an Option for Jamie Martinez

The 20-year-old overcame abuse, and is now bound for UC Berkeley. Sponsored by Grape-Nuts.

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Written by Anne Krueger.

Growing up in an abusive foster home, Jamie Martinez expressed his anger by doing poorly in school and getting into fights. He felt alone in the world and let down by many of the adults in his life.

Then he started attending Grossmont College, where he met counselors and instructors who nurtured and encouraged him. Now Jamie is graduating with honors and will be attending the University of California at Berkeley in the fall.

“Just because I was a foster child doesn’t mean I was destined to fail,” Jamie said.

Jamie, a 20-year-old Alpine resident, was placed in foster care when he was four years old after he was removed from his home because his mother was a drug addict and alcoholic. He said he suffered physical and sexual abuse from siblings in the foster family, but he didn’t tell the social workers who visited the home.

“It was really pretty scary growing up. I would pretend everything was OK. It was all an act,” Jamie said. “I was just trying to belong somewhere.”   

Throughout his school years, Jamie’s grades suffered and he frequently acted out and got into fights. At one point, school officials told Jamie’s foster parents that he would need to be placed in special education classes.                   

His emotional problems increased while he was attending Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, when his foster mother developed breast cancer and his biological mother died of an overdose. Jamie began having anxiety attacks and was hospitalized for a month. Although he was placed on medication, Jamie’s defiance continued to the point that his foster mother kicked him out of her home during his senior year.                   

Jamie moved in with his grandmother, but he still was confused when he graduated – barely – from high school in 2010.

“I really didn’t see any purpose in it. What was the point?” Jamie said. “I didn’t have a passion. I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

Soon after graduating, Jamie attended the Summer Institute at Grossmont College, a six-week program designed to help incoming freshmen prepare for the rigors of college. There he met counselors Michael Perez and Pearl Lopez, who he said transformed his outlook on life.                     

“I felt like for the first time, I could focus on school,” Jamie said. “I felt like for the first time, I could do something I loved.”

During his first year at Grossmont College, Jamie got mostly B’s in his classes. He said his frequent talks with Perez helped him realize he needed to try harder.

“He had a way of believing in me, but having me take responsibility for myself,” Jamie said. “He told me, ‘Your grades aren’t bad, but I know you can do better. You can get straight A’s. That opened my eyes.”                   

Jamie intensified his focus on his schooling and got almost all A’s in his classes. He also realized what he wanted to do with his life – become a counselor to help others the way that Perez and Lopez had done for him.

Jamie will be receiving his A.A. in social and behavioral science at Grossmont College’s commencement on June 5. A few weeks later, he’ll be heading to Berkeley, where he has received a scholarship that will pay for his tuition, books and part of his housing. A scholarship fund to help with his other expenses has been set up by Grossmont College communications instructor Tina Perez.    

“Failure is not an option anymore,” Jamie said. “I’m ready for the journey ahead.”                     


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