Martinez, who will be proudly graduating from Augusta University on May 13, has already accepted a job at Child Enrichment, Inc. in Augusta.
Child Enrichment was established in 1978 by a group of physicians, nurses and social workers to help abused children overcome their experience and rebuild their lives. Over the past 40 years, the nonprofit has helped more than 24,500 children who were abused, abandoned and neglected in the Augusta area.
“Child Enrichment does some incredible things here in Augusta. It’s a wonderful nonprofit,” Martinez said. “I started interning there last September with the Court Appointed Special Advocates program.”
The Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program recruits, trains, supervises and coordinates community volunteers to speak up for abused and neglected children in the foster care system, Martinez said.
The volunteers must be carefully screened, undergo background checks and receive more than 40 hours of specialized training to learn skills necessary to advocate for children in juvenile court proceedings, she said. Just last year, CASA volunteers served and advocated for 405 children in such court proceedings.
“CASA works to make sure that children will be placed in a safe and stable home as quickly as possible,” Martinez said. “We speak up for abused and neglected children in the foster care system. So, that’s what I did during my internship and I ended up loving it so much that I accepted a job there.”
Martinez is truly grateful for the education and guidance she received from the professors and faculty within the Department of Social Sciences at Augusta University.
“The social work program is amazing. It really prepares students throughout the whole entire track,” Martinez said, adding that she particularly enjoyed the courses taught by Penny Alderman and Morgan Fields.
“Dr. Eunhye Kim is our new gerontology professor and she’s also awesome. But there are a lot of great courses here at AU. For example, Dr. John Hayes’ history courses are wonderful. He is an amazing history professor. I just really enjoyed my time here at Augusta University.”
After graduation, Martinez says she believes Child Enrichment plans to have her working with children in the Columbia County area.
“That will be different because I did my internship and volunteer work in rural Augusta, so I’ll get to see a whole different side of this community,” Martinez said. “I’m really excited because I love Augusta. After I joined the military, I liked it here so much that I got married and my husband and our family settled down here.
“Now, I call Augusta home and I want to stay here and serve the kids and the families of the Augusta area.”