Diego Martinez '12

As a Creative Writing and Literature major, Diego Martinez ’12 lights up when talking about Franklin’s Literary Society, an organization he became involved in soon after arriving on campus and in which he is now serving as editor-in-chief of its annual magazine.

“When Literary Society members get together, we do end up talking about books,” says Diego. “We’re all interested in reading and writing creatively, and we like to share our work. We work on pieces and critique each other.”

Diego is excited about putting together the Literary Society’s annual magazine of student work that the club publishes every spring. Last year’s edition, which was unveiled at the club’s Great-Gatsby-themed gala, was a huge success, and the club thrives because of enthusiastic, committed members like Diego.

“With the literary community at Franklin, although we’re small, it’s really fun,” says Diego.

Coming from a little town in the state of Michoacán in central Mexico, Diego was attracted to the tightly knit community feeling at Franklin. He liked that professors were guaranteed to know the names of everyone in the class and that he would never have to be one of 200 students in a huge lecture hall. He heard about the College from a Franklin student who was in his class while he was studying in California. The Academic Travel options sealed his conviction to attend Franklin, and he transferred for the spring 2010 semester as a sophomore.

Diego’s first Academic Travel took him to Tuscany through Florence, Siena and Lucca with Professor Ornella Gebhardt, a “really Italian professor” who was able to provide Diego with “a perfect example of jumping into the culture with the food, music and wine from the region.” The experience taught him to refute the perception amongst students that travels close to the campus are not as exciting as far-away destinations, and this fall he enjoyed Academic Travel to Berlin.  

This year Diego is working with Professor Robert McCormick as a research assistant to help organize the Caribbean Conference, which provides a rare opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes work of organizing a literary conference and to meet the participating authors.

“Unlike International Relations or other majors with the chances for more ‘real world’ experiences, the Caribbean Conference is one of the few hands-on opportunities and chances for field work in my major,” says Diego, who is interested in teaching university-level literature and creative writing once he graduates and pursues a Ph.D.

Since arriving at Franklin, Diego also became an Orientation Leader for incoming freshmen because he wanted to share with them all the great things that they could become involved in through clubs and organizations as well as academically. He also wanted to tell first-year students everything he knew about Franklin and Switzerland that he wishes someone had told him when he first arrived, like the best sandwich shop in town and the joys of paddle boating, which he and a group of Franklin friends enjoy on Lake Lugano during spectacular autumn and spring days when they can float in the middle of the lake and view the surrounding mountains with awe. “People are naturally comfortable with Diego,” says Kyle Carpenter, Director of Student Leadership at Franklin, who worked with the Orientation Leaders. “He is positive all the time.”

An avid hiker, Diego leads local outings with objectives such as reaching the top of Mount Boglia, which can be seen from Franklin’s campus. On his own, Diego enjoys practicing Italian by taking local yoga classes in Lugano.

To support students like Diego, click here.

To request a copy of last year's Literary magazine, click here. 

October 2010