She wanted to teach. Now she does.
Emily Martinez-Villalobos heard about SDA from a friend in its first cohort at Carolina, and applied the next year. What stayed with her were the guest speakers, leaders who talked about their work and what they’d done for their community.
She knew in high school that she wanted to teach. She didn’t have family who could walk her through FAFSA, applications or scholarships, and paying for college was her biggest worry. SDA helped her work through all of it, and showed her people like her in leadership positions.
Today Emily teaches seven- and eight-year-olds and hopes they’ll lead and help others in turn. She’d like to see SDA grow into more of the Upstate, starting with Spartanburg.
“It allowed me to see that there are other people in high positions that are also minorities, and so therefore I could also be in those positions.”
Emily Martinez-Villalobos
