Oddly enough, it was a simple query from the U.S. immigration official who asked 8-year-old Miguelissa Martinez the question that continues to propel her toward her goals: “What do you want to be in this life?” It was the third time that her mother had submitted papers on Miguelissa’s behalf to join her after leaving the Dominican Republic for New York five years earlier. And this time, her application was approved. “A fashion designer,” she replied, confidently.
Fast forward to her eighth grade year in the Bronx, and the 13-year-old submitted her portfolio to Manhattan’s High School of Fashion Industries. It was accepted, and she enrolled.
“It was fun,” said Miguelissa, “and I have a talent for drawing.” A talent, by the way, that she put to use during the pandemic in a lucrative side hustle of customizing sneakers. But it turns out that she wasn’t passionate about fashion. Instead, what was Miguelissa passionate about? Numbers. Math. Data.
Just look at the first sentence of her LinkedIn profile: “I am fascinated with the beauty of economics, monetary policy, and how economics impacts our daily lives.” Where did that come from?
“The first day I stepped into Professor Buttet’s economics class at Guttman, I felt fluent. It was unreal how smooth and fun it was for me to learn economics. I was intrigued by everything, and every question he posed to the class, I could answer. I was immediately drawn into it,” the business administration major recalls.
Sensing her aptitude for economic theory, Dr. Buttet offered her a proposition: quit her job at Chipotle’s and work with him on a stipend as a CUNY Research Scholar on a study he was conducting on the Taylor Rule, a 1993 monetary policy guideline meant to curb inflation. “I could see right away that there were flaws in the rule because it only took into account factors in the past. What we did was adjust the formula so it could work with the future and its uncertainties,” Miguelissa remarked.
Buttet sent her to conferences, on her own, to argue her findings. “I was terrified. There I was, a Latina from the Bronx, talking to professors and economists. But I knew what I was talking about. They listened to me and appreciated my questions to them, as well,” she said. Later, Miguelissa and her classmates headed to Wall Street with Professors Buttet and Seth for an intercollegiate competition sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank. Her team analyzed economic and financial conditions and formulated policy recommendations.
The experience proved to be decisive. Upon graduating with her AA, she would apply and be accepted into one of the most competitive economics programs in the country at the University of Southern California.
As profound as her immediate sense of belonging was the first day of her economics class at Guttman, Miguelissa felt completely out of her league in her USC classes. “It was horrible,” she sighed, squeezing her eyes shut at the memory. “Everything was hard. I had to read up on everything everybody else already knew. I spent every night at the library and hours in tutoring. On top of that, I failed calculus. Calculus! And I love math!” Never having to really study before, she floundered. For the first time, this self-described “social butterfly,” miles from her family and friends, was alone, ashamed and on academic probation.
Miguelissa went to her professors, explaining that even though her GPA “was on the floor,” it wasn’t for lack of trying. She implored them to give her a chance, even convincing her professor to allow her to study abroad. “Everything was on the line for me. If I failed out of the program, I’d lose my scholarship, and back to the Bronx, to poverty. I determined I wasn’t leaving without my degree. I had to do it.”
She did. And with each push forward, her confidence grew a little stronger. Today, with an MBA she earned from Rider University last month and a brand new promotion at work, Miguelissa credits her sense of discipline to the challenges she overcame to earn her BA in Economics. At Cayuga Centers, a nonprofit that supports vulnerable children and families, Miguelissa uses numbers as powerful tools to lift up others. Beginning there in 2021 as a data specialist for unaccompanied minors, today the 27-year-old assistant director of financial planning and analysis supports the mission of the organization through managing and preparing the overall agency fiscal year budget and financial analyses in order to respond to contract opportunities by improving performance.
When she asks herself that question she first answered as a little girl, “What do you want to be in this life?,” she thinks about her answer more broadly, beyond achieving the next degree, the next career goal. “I want an easier financial future. Being low-income, being an immigrant, sometimes we don’t think we’re worth it to want that,” she said. She wants a life where her job in the U.S. is not her sole source of income. She’s purchased some property back in the D.R. and she’s thinking, she’s planning. “I can start building my future now,” she mused.
Indeed, she already has.
