Nerina Martinez
Internship Program Lead, High School Internship Program, Chicago
I am super excited to return to Urban Alliance as a High School Internship Program Lead! Over the years, I have supported Urban Alliance in many ways, including serving as a mentor and being part of the Alumni Board, but my journey with Urban Alliance started as an intern for Chicago’s first cohort. For the last 7 years, I have worked in various roles focusing on filling the resource gaps in many Chicago neighborhoods such as Englewood, Little Village and Back of the Yards. Before joining Urban Alliance, I was working to provide students at an alternative high school with the professional development skills needed to succeed in a job while also building their confidence and providing them with career exploration activities to showcase the various career paths available to them. My past employment opportunities have helped me better understand the many resource gaps in our city’s neighborhoods, therefore, my passion will always be to help close those gaps, but now it has grown into also helping our youth become the best versions of themselves by passing along everything that my past mentors have taught me.
I obtained my associate’s degree at Harold Washington College and then obtained my bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a focus in Law, Crime, and Criminology at DePaul University.