Meet Esteban Martin, a UTRGV Unsung Hero
Text by Amanda A. Taylor-Uchoa
Esteban Martin, associate registrar in the Office of the University Registrar on the UTRGV Brownsville Campus, loves to stay busy. Considering the large and always growing volume of students UTRGV enrolls each year, every day brings many different hats for Martin to wear in order to make sure students and staff are getting the help they need.
One of the most rewarding experiences in his career is being able to see students graduate at commencement.
“This big event is where UTRGV staff can enjoy our daily work fruition, which is helping our students earn their degree,” he said.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE?
I have been working in higher education for 23 years. I began my career at UTB-TSC and had the pleasure to transition to UTRGV in Fall 2015.
DESCRIBE YOUR AVERAGE DAY:
Although my work hats are many, my day consists of maintaining student data integrity, assisting students and our campus community with registration issues, and finding ways to ensure our students and staff have a sound experience when using the services we provide.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR JOB?
As weird as it sounds, I enjoy being overwhelmed with work. This allows me to ignite innovative ideas to assist not only myself, but also the campus community, the staff and students, that I work with and for.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MEMORY, OR STORY, ABOUT YOUR TIME HERE?
I always enjoy participating in commencement ceremonies. This big event is where UTRGV staff can enjoy our daily work fruition, which is helping our students earn their degree. I’ll mention a commencement memory that not many know. Back in the day, we used to have index cards that served as the script for the ceremony, and which we handed to speakers on stage. Well, in a handoff between me and an old colleague, we dropped the cards! We looked at each other and recognized the severity since the ceremony had already started, but we just started picking up the cards and no one ever knew that happened as the ceremony went on without any hiccups.
TELL US SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU
Not many know but I have a degree in Mathematics, which supports my analytical thinking.
WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UTRGV COMMUNITY?
When I first started in higher education, I enjoyed the work environment and keep enjoying it.
