Breaking the cycle: Purdue Global gave me a new beginning

Yvette Martinez, veteran of the Marine Corps and Air Force, believes in a better world for the next generation 

Yvette Martinez recalls writing a paper in third grade about why she wanted to be a Marine when she grew up. She does not remember, however, how she even would have known what the U.S. military is, let alone any particular branch.   

But somehow, whether it was through a teacher or a commercial or any other way it could have gotten into her head, she knew Marines were protectors. And in pure defiance of her tiny size among other 8-year-olds, Martinez had always been a protector.  

Having faced abuse as a child, she learned a protective instinct earlier than most.  

“I was always that kid — if I saw somebody else getting hurt, I would run toward it,” she says.  

So when she graduated high school at 17, the only part of her future she felt sure of was joining the Marine Corps. She did have a secret, second dream that military service could make possible. But as a first-generation high school graduate, she was nervous to indulge those hopes.  

“I didn’t know what my options were. I didn’t even know if I was smart. I didn’t even know how to apply. But I always wanted to go to college,” she says. “I remember one time using someone’s computer to apply for school, but we didn’t have the $50 fee. So I just didn’t do it.”

From there, to the Marines, through multiple deployments, through a transfer to the Air Force, she still quietly dreamed of earning a college degree.  

And now Martinez has just crossed the stage at Purdue Global commencement for the second time, this time to accept her master’s diploma. Her whole family — her sons, mom, aunt and sisters — were there to watch family history being made.  

Finding the opportunity for a new dream

“I’ve only had two real jobs as an adult — military and law enforcement,” Martinez says.  

But whether she was deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan as a Marine, writing policies for her local sheriff’s department, training troops in the Air Force or even coaching her sons’ baseball and soccer teams, a common thread emerged. She realized she loved teaching. And as someone who had lost some friends in combat and seen others injured on the job, she knew the dangers of her job all too well. The urgency to create a backup plan began to build. 

“I would love to teach criminal justice at the college level. That’s what I know, and I think I’m good at it. I don’t want to leave my job, but I enjoy teaching so much. Why not teach something I enjoy?” she says. 

Martinez started out trying to balance classes at a brick-and-mortar community college with motherhood, coaching and full-time work. She was making it happen, but it was a heavy struggle. Then a colleague showed her how much more manageable the student experience could be.

When Martinez saw her colleague was in school, she immediately related — sharing her own experience, knowing how much commitment was necessary while working full time and raising kids. Her friend agreed but mentioned how much easier Purdue Global’s online platform made it to balance her responsibilities.   

“I had no idea Purdue Global was an option!” Martinez says.  

Later, Martinez happened to notice her friend logging on and looking through her Purdue Global course materials. The first thing she observed was how straightforward and well-organized the information appeared, and her friend affirmed that this was indeed the case. 

“I applied the next day,” Martinez says. 

Breaking the cycle 

The future has started to come into sharper focus for Martinez. Since teaching college courses remains on her bucket list, she moved on to a master’s program in education with Purdue Global after she finished her bachelor’s in liberal arts.  

There was something therapeutic in knowing she was not only academically capable and working toward something she loved, but she found her studies a crucial component of a much larger goal. As she works with the next generation — whether they’re her kids or the ones she coaches or encounters at work — she’s steadfast in her belief that the generational cycle of abuse ends with her. 

“It’s not just my own kids; it’s the community,” she says. “And there’s so many kids out here struggling, either in poverty or who don’t have the same opportunities. I’ve done my best to get out there, volunteer, speak about my past, work with kids who come in here through the juvenile system. I let them know there are opportunities, but you have to want them enough. I had to be determined that no, I’m not putting up with that behavior. That’s not what I want. I want this life, and this life is what I’m going to get.” 

She’s worked for that life and has truly earned it — from abandoning her first application attempt because she couldn’t afford the application fee all the way to earning her bachelor’s. Now that she’s crossing the stage to accept her master’s degree, she says “comeback” describes part, but not all, of her experience. 

“It’s more than a comeback. It’s more than a feeling of accomplishment,” she says. “I became me. I am me now.”

I was always that kid — if I saw someone else getting hurt, I would run toward it.

Yvette Martinez BS liberal arts ’20, Purdue Global 
MS education ’24, Purdue Global