Born and raised in Mexico City, Jesus Raul Martinez Piña accepted an unexpected opportunity to improve his English, leading him to his dream program at the BYU Marriott School of Business. Along the way, Martinez began to foster a new dream: to become a business professional who makes his corner of the world a better place.
Martinez valued the gospel-based education he received at a private high school in Mexico City sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and dreamed of studying in a similar environment at BYU. This desire grew during his church mission in Cancún, Mexico, where he was inspired by discussions with his American companions about their future opportunities at American universities.
Martinez’s parents offered to pay for college in the United States when he returned home from his mission, but he declined, aware of the financial strain that would place on his family. Instead, he pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics at a public university in Mexico. But just before graduation, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the university to close, and Martinez was unable to complete his degree. After six months of uncertainty, his parents revealed a surprise: They had been saving up money and could support his education in the US. This time, Martinez accepted the offer.
With a bachelor’s degree all but complete, Martinez’s primary goal as a student in the States was to improve his English while obtaining an associate’s degree. He began with classes in business intelligence at Ensign College in Salt Lake City and was hired as a data analyst for the school. By the time he completed his associate’s degree, he was put in charge of the data analytics office, which included evaluating and proposing new university programs. “I think a lot of people were surprised to know I was a student,” he laughs.
After obtaining his associate’s degree, Martinez once again found himself at a standstill: His school in Mexico hadn’t reopened, and he still couldn’t complete the paperwork for his first degree. His options were to either return to Mexico or keep studying in the US. After much prayer and reflection, he received a prompting to apply to BYU.
His immediate reaction was one of astonishment. He recalls having the thought, “Lord, you knew that was my dream my whole life?” Martinez worried that it might be too late for him to go to BYU—after all, he had almost completed two degrees already, and he was older than the majority of undergraduate students. Nevertheless, he told the Lord, “If you’re going to help me, I’ll do it.” He was accepted to BYU soon after and worked hard to also get accepted to BYU Marriott’s finance program.
Yet Martinez found that even miracles come with challenges—he initially struggled to stay on top of BYU Marriott’s academic demands and the new business vocabulary in English. At times, he shares, he felt like the Israelites who complained in the desert after the Lord delivered them out of Egypt.
Yet even as he fought to keep up with the challenging new pace, he was reminded often of why he wanted to be there in the first place: “I could feel a lot of opportunities open to me.” In his first semester at BYU Marriott, he jumped into real-world business experiences in an on-campus internship. He also found plenty of opportunities to expand his network with visiting companies, faculty, and peers from around the world.
By expanding his network, he expanded his vision. “Before I came to BYU, the only place that I knew was Mexico, and it was good. But coming here, learning a new language and culture, and then socializing with other cultures—I will never be the same,” he explains. He looks forward to one day giving back by creating jobs and launching businesses in Mexico.
Martinez graduates from BYU Marriott, he says, with far more than another degree: He is motivated to become a better person. “Every semester, I have professors who inspire me to be a professional who really does his best at his job. I have been able to evolve through the BYU Marriott values: faith, integrity, excellence, and respect,” he concludes. “I’m so grateful I’m here at BYU.”
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Written by Kathryn Cragun
