San Diego Mesa College has chosen alumnus Antonio Martinez, a candidate for San Diego City Council, as its 2018 Distinguished Alumnus.
Martinez completed Mesa College in 2005, then transferred to the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated with honors. He will speak at the college’s 2018 commencement ceremony on May 19.
“We are proud to have an alumnus like Mr. Antonio Martinez,” said Mesa College President Pamela T. Luster. “He embodies the Mesa College Olympian spirit, and as a successful Mesa graduate has returned to his community to give back.”
Martinez grew up in the San Ysidro and was the first in his family to go to college. Since 2012 he has been a member of the San Ysidro School Board, and he also serves on the board of the San Ysidro Community Planning Group and the San Ysidro Recreation Council.
He has been endorsed in the race for District 8 by the San Diego Police Officers Association, Rep. Juan Vargas, and Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, among others.
“I am honored and humbled to be San Diego Mesa College’s 2018 Distinguished Alumnus,” said Martinez. “My professors at Mesa College were the best I have ever had, and the education I received gave me the foundation I needed to be successful in an Ivy League school and in life.”