By Gabriella Hernandez
The following is the third installment in a series of stories written by the 10 talented participants in the 2022 Hofstra University Summer High School Journalism Institute, from July 11-22. In this piece, Gabriella Hernandez, of Bethpage High School, profiles Marjorie Martinez, of Uniondale High School. All participants were asked to write short biographies on one another as an opening exercise.
Marjorie Martinez, 17, a Uniondale High School rising senior, found her passion and love for journalism over the years. Growing up, she said she saw how journalism could have a profound effect on the world, and she decided she wanted to make such an impact herself.
In particular, celebrities struggling with their mental health showed Martinez that “we only become exposed to certain situations when it happens to someone known, when it’s something that happens to everyone, including you and me,” she noted.
From a young age, Martinez said, she loved reading. In her books, she found realistic situations that she had never experienced. At the same time, she loved imaginative fantasy series like “Percy Jackson.”
Through reading, Martinez learned about the importance of communication, and she said reporting and shedding light on “hard news” is just as important as reporting on “soft news.” Interviewing journalism professors and industry professionals inspired her to report and write for the public, she said.
Martinez also said she is passionate about the arts. Dance and musical theater have helped develop her creative mind, she said. When Martinez is not choreographing or drawing along the sides of her notebooks in school, she is creating her own fictional world, writing short stories or fantasy novels in her free time to escape her reality. She shares her personal stories and experiences through her characters.
At Uniondale High, she joined the chess club and badminton team and helped produce many art pieces for the Honor Arts Society. In college, she hopes to major in communications, specifically print journalism, and minor in dance to pursue both her passions at once.
