Outreach director leads by example
- College employee, Hispanic, was first in family to attend and graduate college.
- Employee now reaches out to others in need.
Jessica Martinez-Brooks
By Katie R. Jones, News Writing Student
Being the first family member to attend and graduate college makes a huge impact on how the rest of the younger generations of your family will lead their lives, said Jessica Martinez-Brooks.
By having an older family member to look up to as a successful college graduate, younger generations are less likely to doubt their ability to follow in their footsteps and earn a degree.
Martinez-Brooks, 30, was the first in her family to attend and graduate college. She knew she wanted to make a difference with youngsters who faced the same problems she did.
Martinez-Brooks is half Hispanic.
She grew up on the south side of Oklahoma City, which is becoming predominately Hispanic.
No one in her family had attended college; therefore, no one knew how to apply to college, apply for financial aid, or anything else that comes along with attending college.
Luckily, she had the help of teachers and mentors who showed her what to do.
Martinez-Brooks graduated from OCCC with an associate degree in 1997.
She continued her education at the University of Oklahoma, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1999.
Summer internships throughout her college career helped Martinez-Brooks realize what she did and did not want to do in life.
She didn’t like corporate public relations because she “couldn’t see the immediate results” of her work.
This led her to working in the public relations office at Oklahoma City University. A year later, she was at OCCC working as the college’s Media Relations Coordinator.
Now, Martinez-Brooks is the director of Community Outreach at OCCC. Her job involves helping students who may be unprepared and discouraged from attending college.
Martinez-Brooks works with many Hispanic community-based organizations including the Latino Community Development Agency.
At the LCDA, English as a Second Language classes are available.
As of now, classes are completely full, with some waiting for openings on a waiting list.
Also available at the LCDA are programs such as a homebuyers program, a day care and a job searching program.
“It’s a complete support system,” Martinez-Brooks said of the LCDA.
As a staff member at OCCC, her goal is to give the younger generations of the Hispanic community the tools and skills needed to attend college.
She serves as sponsor for OCCC’s Hispanic Organization to Promote Education. Through this organization, she sends students to public schools on the south side to help children who are having trouble speaking and reading English.
It doesn’t take much to help these kids, she said.
“All they need is someone to say, ‘You can do it! You are smart enough!’”
“Just showing up to tutor them shows that you care about them, and that means a lot to them. They may not have anyone who cares about their schoolwork except you.”
The Oklahoma Hispanic population is predicted to increase by 24,000 people between the years of 2005 and 2015. This statistic shows the need for help in the Hispanic community is only going to increase.
Helping now will influence how the community and future generations lead their lives, she said.
