Claudia Martinez has been preparing for her role as City College’s new MESA program director all her life. She is a higher education leader who has spent the past two decades advancing STEM student success, workforce readiness, and leadership development, particularly among students from underrepresented populations. Born in Peru, raised in Italy, and educated and employed in Hawaii, she has experienced a wide range of educational systems and how they connect—or fail to connect—with students from different cultures.
“MESA represents something I care deeply about, which is helping students recognize their potential and connect their education to meaningful careers in STEM,” said Martinez, who began working at City on February 2.
An acronym for Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement, MESA is laser-focused on empowering students from underserved communities with the skills and confidence to master STEM subjects. City alumni have included former dropouts who went on to study physics at UC Berkeley and electrical engineering at UC Davis, and others have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program grants to fund their postgraduate study. Graduation and transfer rates among MESA cohorts are markedly higher than those for non-MESA STEM students.
City’s MESA program – which offers tutoring, counseling, a wide array of resources, connections to industry professionals, and more – was among the first at a California community college. “City College has a strong legacy of supporting ambitious STEM students, and I am excited to expand on the work that MESA has been doing to support their success,” Martinez said. “The tutors, faculty, and professional staff really care about the students, and when we come together with that level of care, that makes all the difference in the world.”
Her journey to City began in Peru, where she was born before immigrating with her family to Italy as a child due to economic hardship and instability in the country. The family settled in a Peruvian enclave in Milan, Italy, where Martinez grew up. She and her family eventually moved to Denver. She later settled in Honolulu, where she earned an associate degree at Kapi‘olani Community College and served as an AmeriCorps VISTA, coordinating federally funded initiatives through a National Science Foundation grant to expand culturally affirming STEM programming for Pacific Islander youth. The experience introduced Pacific Islander students to STEM through Indigenous perspectives. “That work is where I found my calling,” she said.
After securing a bachelor’s degree from Excelsior College in Albany, New York, Martinez moved on to San Diego State University, where her work spanned student affairs, intercultural relations, career development services, and STEM equity initiatives. She holds a master’s degree in postsecondary educational leadership from SDSU, continues to teach in the university’s Leadership Studies program, and is a 2024–25 RISE San Diego Urban Leadership Fellow.
Since arriving at City, she has been spending a lot of time learning about the college’s culture and growing the MESA program, which currently enrolls 189 students, even further.
“I want students to feel like they belong here, and that they can succeed in STEM,” she said. “The coursework can be intimidating to students, and they can find asking themselves, ‘Can I do this?’ My answer is always, ‘Yes.’ They have everything they need within themselves. And programs like MESA helps create the community, support, and resources that remind students they are not alone in this journey.”