Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995 TAG: 9506120012
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ADRIANNE BEE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"The most important thing for anybody to have is direction and a goal," he says. "If you've got that, nobody can stop you." The words that sound like those of a skilled motivational speaker are coming from a senior preparing to graduate today from Blacksburg High School.
One of those rare people who knows just where he's going, Martinez Lezama's real story lies in where he has been. He grew up in Nicaragua and spent the majority of his time with his grandparents - his "second mother and father" - while his mother worked. In 1983, at the urging of his father, a graduate student at Virginia Tech, his mother, younger brother and Martinez Lezama came to the United States.
"I had to start in the middle of fifth grade not knowing any English," says Martinez Lezama, who attended Margaret Beeks Elementary School. "All I remember is thinking in Spanish." A sparse knowledge of Spanish grammar made it even more difficult for Martinez Lezama to pick up on a new language.
But he began understanding English little by little. "My friend Daryl Elliot helped me," Martinez Lezama says. "He'd tell me what things were, like 'this is a spoon.'"
His mother, Claudia Lezama Jones, was unsure, at first, about coming to a country that was involved in the war in Nicaragua.
"She came because she saw it as an opportunity for her children," says Niclan Jones.
Lezama Jones, who joined her husband and son at Gillie's, nods and looks at her son. "He can do anything he wants," she says.
Martinez Lezama began adjusting to life in America and in 1991, his grandmother came from Nicaragua to live with them. A couple of months later she died of a stroke.
"It was hard," Martinez Lezama says. Then, his parents got a divorce. Martinez Lezama found himself drifting through school without much determination or discipline. "I was overwhelmed by all of the things happening in my life."
In his early years of high school, Martinez Lezama remembers, "I'd sit in the back of classrooms, talk to my friends. I was never really focused on school." This changed when Gary Henson, Martinez Lezama's biology teacher, pulled him out of class one day.
"He was just getting by, not excelling," remembers Henson. "We had a number of conversations, but one day he decided he was going to focus, get straight A's and he did. It was wonderful to see the lights come on."
Martinez Lezama recalls "something just clicked." His grades rose to A's and B's and by his junior year, Martinez Lezama decided that there was no reason he couldn't take all college preparatory classes. Although he had not yet taken the prerequisites for chemistry or Algebra II, Henson encouraged him to take both classes. Martinez Lezama earned an A in Algebra II and a B in chemistry.
As his senior year approached, Martinez Lezama said, he "decided I haven't taken an AP class, so I thought I had nothing to lose, I can only improve."
He excelled in AP physics and at the end of the year had accumulated a 4.0 overall grade point average for his last semester at Blacksburg High.
"I felt really good about it, so did Mr. Henson," says Martinez Lezama. His mother recalls seeing her son working at 2 a.m. many nights.
"I spent many long hours into the night working on English papers; English was never my best subject."
"He's one of those kids that has heart, is determined and goes way beyond what others do," says Henson. "I hate to see him go."
Martinez Lezama will go to Virginia Tech this fall, even though the school lacks a physical therapy program, his preferred major. "I was going to go to VCU [Virginia Commonwealth University]," he says "but I heard Richmond has a really high murder rate."
He squints his dark-brown eyes in serious thought. "You know, people always say that anything is possible. It's not that simple, though," he says. "If there's a boulder you want to move, you can give it all you can, but it won't go anywhere without direction and help from others. Your friends and family are the ones that help you move things out of your path."
Number of graduates: 196
College bound: 181
Military bound: 3
Work force bound: 12
Valedictorian: Adeel Kaiser
Salutatorian: Basak Coruh
by CNB