Fowler Scholar Spotlight: Brian Martinez
Brian Martinez, Class of 2025.
The Fowler Scholars Program was established in 2018 to educate and prepare a select group of Fowler College of Business students for accelerated and lasting leadership roles in global business and society. Each year, the college selects a new group of freshmen from the San Diego community to become Fowler Scholars. The students selected for the program have demonstrated leadership, ethical conduct, and exceptional academic and collaborative abilities.
Brian Martinez, a class of 2025 Fowler Scholar, is a freshman majoring in Financial Services and double minoring in Information Systems and Accounting. After graduation, Martinez hopes to build his own accounting company that will benefit small businesses. His overall goal is to eventually grow that company into a non-profit organization that assists struggling communities with financial literacy. Martinez discusses what being a Fowler scholar means to him, how his family inspires him, and more.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Fowler Scholar?
Becoming a Fowler Scholar is the greatest honor that I have received in my years of academia. This honor is something I will cherish forever and never take lightly. I am excited to exhibit strong moral values and become an ethical business leader in the future. I am also excited to work with the other members of the Fowler Scholars Program to help sharpen each other’s skills. The Fowler Scholars Program will help me become a leader in my classroom, community, and the business world. Being selected to be in this program has made me realize that I have the potential to make a positive impact on others. After realizing this, I know that I must not waste my potential and use all of my energy to try to improve the world for those around me.
Q: Can you describe a little bit about yourself and how/when you decided to pursue Financial Services as an area of study?
I always knew that I wanted to work in business, but I needed to determine what areas of business interested me the most. My favorite aspects of business are investing and helping people with their finances. The investing interest I have came from learning about the stock market at an early age. By pursuing financial services as an area of study and a career, I can help people generate wealth by investing in assets, maybe even the stock market. I want to pursue a career as a financial planner, advisor or analyst and the financial services major will allow me to pursue those careers.
Q: If you’re involved in SDSU student organizations on campus or affiliated with any organizations off campus, can you share why you got involved and what your experience has been like so far?
I am currently involved with the Student Accounting Society and the Aztecs Trading and Investing Club. These two organizations have given me the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals who have similar interests as mine. I have also met students from foreign countries and I have been able to learn about their culture and their perspective on American life. Interacting with other students enables me to become a well rounded individual. I think it is extremely important for students to get involved at an early stage in college so that they can realize what they do and do not like. I wanted to get involved because I wanted to meet other individuals whocan inspire me to become a better version of myself.
Martinez bowling with the Student Accounting Society.
Q: Who inspires you and why?
The individuals who inspire me the most are the members of my family. No one in my family has ever gone to college so I am proud to be the first one to make it. Seeing my family struggle with their financial situation despite working 84 hours a week has led me to become determined in my goals. Whenever I think I am going through a rough patch, I take a look at my family’s situation and I become fueled with the desire to succeed. My parents have worked too hard for me not to become the best student I can become. I am in debt with my parents forever for the sacrifices that they have made in order for me and my siblings to have a fulfilled childhood.
Q: What is the best advice you have received during your time at SDSU?
During my time at SDSU, a wise man that I met in line at Starbucks told me that “I must do what I gotta do, in order to be where I want to be.” If I want to be leading the financial industry in the future, I must make sure that I always give my best shot at the assignments and challenges that I am given. Having this cause and effect mentality has really helped me weigh the pros against the cons and push through whenever I am struggling.
Q: What career aspirations do you have following your time at SDSU?
After graduating from SDSU I will pursue a career in the wealth management industry. After gaining enough experience and knowledge, I plan to establish my own business which will focus on providing financial services such as investment advice or financial planning. Once I have scaled my business, I will start my own mutual and hedge fund so that I can generate capital to build a worldwide non-profit organization that aims to help struggling communities with financial literacy.
