Alumni Spotlight: Marisela Martinez-Cola

By Kia Lisby and Sarah Bigorowski

Marisela Martinez-Cola, PhD, J.D., graduated from the James T. Laney Graduate School in 2018 and has become an impactful professor to the next generation of minority students.  

Martinez-Cola is a first-generation college graduate who attended the University of Michigan where she received a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies and Psychology.   

"Being first-generation with my family at first was an honor, especially in my Latin community,” she said. 

While Martinez-Cola was very proud to be a first-generation college student, some of her experiences during undergraduate school caused her to feel as though she had to be ashamed of her significant accomplishment.  

"Even though I remained proud of being first-gen, I was very aware that the label made it seem like I wasn't as prepared as my counterparts were — the ones that weren't first-gen."  

Despite this awareness, Martinez-Cola fought through the stereotype of not being prepared throughout most of her academic career, from undergraduate to law school. She obtained her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. After practicing law for one year, Martinez-Cola realized she did not feel fulfilled by the profession. She decided to shift careers and transition into student affairs. Martinez-Cola knew she had the skillset and knowledge base to do the job without having the specialized education or training in student affairs. She had learned how to advocate with her background in law, so she knew she could use her skills to advocate for students. 

"I arranged a President's Council with the presidents of all the affinity groups that I advised to meet once a month to talk about what they were doing and find out ways where they can connect in meaningful ways and support each other" she stated.  

As a leader in student affairs, Martinez-Cola always took the opportunity to see who was represented at the table and who was missing. Although everyone did not get a "seat," she worked as hard as possible to "get as many people around the table to make it as beautiful and rich as a tapestry as humanly possible."  

After working in student affairs for nearly a decade and often guest lecturing, Martinez-Cola decided to return to school to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a professor. After being out of school for many years, she initially was not accepted to graduate school, and it was recommended to take a year of classes at Emory to refresh her letters of recommendation and reestablish her success as a student. Martinez-Cola was able to reapply and was accepted into Laney Graduate School.  

While at Emory, Martinez-Cola participated in the Latino Graduate Student Association and received a teaching award before earning her PhD in sociology.  

For her dissertation, she studied school desegregation cases such as Brown versus Board of Education, as well as other Mexican American, Asian American, and Native American cases that existed.  

"I ended up identifying over 100 cases that were filed before Brown versus Board of Education, and 14 of them involved non-black plaintiffs. Then I took three of those that were all in California and ended up studying race, class, gender, and age."  

The research from the cases eventually led Martinez-Cola to turn her dissertation into a book, "The Bricks Before Brown."  

After obtaining her PhD, Martinez-Cola became a professor at Utah State University. While she enjoyed it there, she longed to return to Morehouse College after her experience with Emory's Mellon Mays Teaching Fellowship, a dissertation completion fellowship.  

"When I was there, I just fell in love with all things Morehouse. The students were amazing and brilliant. My students talked to me about their relationships, their families, and whether to go to graduate school or just normal conversations. I was so thrilled to be there."  

When the opportunity to return to Morehouse presented itself, Martinez-Cola did not hesitate to take the role. At Morehouse, she can be her authentic self without having to "perform" for those who cannot relate to her.  

As a professor, Martinez-Cola teaches her Morehouse men practical things that helped her throughout her graduate school journey along with advice she received from her mentors and advisors. She shares with her students when they should apply to law school, encourages them to make lists of top dream schools and schools they would feel comfortable attending, and tells them to trust their instincts. As a minority, she understands the need to belong, and the systematic oppression often found in underserved communities.  

Martinez-Cola finds her work rewarding because she "helps shape the future of this country." She is also pleased to see another shift in the perception of being first-gen, once considered a negative to some, has returned positive and is embraced by students. Martinez-Cola reminds others that being first-gen is something you bring with you no matter what space you go into. 

"They're [her students] on a path, and I get the privilege of being a part of that journey, even if it is a small part. At Morehouse, my students are flying, and my job is to say, where do you want to go, and how can I help you get there?”  

Check out Marisela Martinez-Cola's article "Collectors, Nightlights, and Allies, Oh My! White Mentors in the Academy," where she discusses the three types of mentors she experienced throughout the years as a woman of color – ones who "collect" you, ones that help to light the way for you (nightlights) and, ones who are your "allies."