Mark Martinez was named the recipient of the 2022 Guerrier “Hope” Fellowship. The “Hope” Fellowship is awarded to a Teacher Education Program credential student who demonstrates the sense of personal courage and hope that Vivian Guerrier embodied as a stalwart member of the Gevirtz School community.
Mark Martinez is a first-generation graduate student pursuing a Master’s of Education and a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Chemistry. He studied chemistry at Merced College before transferring to UCLA where he earned his B.S. in Biochemistry in 2021. Martinez also spent time as a volunteer with the Glendale Learning Program at UCLA tutoring middle school students from the Glendale area in math and science. He aims to be a positive role model for his students and hopes to get more of them interested in pursuing STEM.
This endowed scholarship honors longtime Gevirtz School staff member Vivian Guerrier, who died in August 2007 after more than a decade of service to the GGSE and Credential students. Faced with great personal challenges, Guerrier dedicated her life in the GGSE to serving students and exemplified how one person can make a difference in the lives of others. In the ordinary circumstances of her daily work she provided a gracious and welcoming environment for students and was an inspiration for everyone. Through the “Hope” Scholarship the School recognizes and encourages students who, like Guerrier, persevere in spite of hardships to accomplish their vision to become educators, and who inspire others with their courage and integrity. Guerrier is remembered as a model of hope to all who knew her. In 2004 she was recognized for her achievements and was awarded the “Unsung Heroine Award” sponsored by the UCSB Professional Women’s Association.