From academic struggles to personal triumphs the school counselor Melissa Martinez, is dedicated to helping students at UACHS reach their full potential. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Martinez started out her career at Montclair State University where she did her undergraduate studies and studied child advocacy and policy with a double minor in social work and art. She then attended William Paterson University where she studied school counseling and clinical mental health. She recently graduated in May 2025 with the intention of helping young people.
Martinez always felt the need to help young people overcome personal obstacles and she knew UACHS would be the perfect place to start helping teens get through those issues.
“Helping teenagers through adolescence has always been one of my passions,” said Martinez. “When the opportunity to join UACHS became available, it felt like the perfect opportunity to begin my journey.”
Her dedication to helping students is rooted in her own high school experiences. During her high school years Martinez developed an interest in counseling. After she had many experiences with school counselors she realized that those she encountered were not helpful and they did not care about the students, so she became part of the system in order to change that.
Throughout her career she has experienced and learned many lessons that have shaped her identity and helped her grow. Experiences like being a first generation hispanic woman, and the impact of not having a counselor that was involved enough her senior year.
“I always thought of being a counselor because growing up I never really had a counselor who made themselves known; Nor were they helpful,” said Martinez. “This makes it more personal to me and I am still learning as I grow now and I apply them into the perspective of students everyday.”
Martinez’s goal is to connect on a personal level with her kids. This helps her achieve her goal of wanting to help teens overcome struggles in their life. One of her strategies to help adolescents in overcoming their issues in order to connect with them emotionally is simply being a listener. She believes that in order to create a trusting bond with your students you need to respect their voices in order to show care. Even the little things matter such as saying hello in the hallways or remembering names all can be the perfect starting point.
“Respecting students’ voices, and showing up consistently also play an important factor,” said Martinez. “Some other things that help are little things such as saying hello in the hallway, remembering something a student shared, or just being present.”
Her own experiences fuel her dedication. She wants to understand her students and ensure that no one feels overshadowed and overlooked like she once was.
