Outstanding Graduate: Emily Martella, L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

When recreation administration graduate Emily Martella transferred to San Diego State University, she was looking forward to having the full SDSU college experience. However, due to COVID-19, Martella ended up completing three of her four semesters at SDSU in a virtual setting.

Though this wasn’t ideal, Martella says with the support of the Payne School, she was still able to immerse herself and have a fun college experience.

“As someone who is planning to continue their education and receive their Master’s, this past year has really put into perspective the form of communication that I value the most is face-to-face. This has caused me to put off continuing my education until I can be sure that it’s in person,” Martella says.

Martella’s career goals include working on a college campus as an event programmer and providing recreation activities for the student body.

While at SDSU, Martella served as vice president of the Recreation and Tourism Student Association (RTSA), received two scholarships from the California Parks and Recreation Society District 12, the Recreation and Tourism Management Faculty Scholarship, and the Bonnie Jean Gore Scholarship. She also interned for the City of Coronado’s Recreation and Golf Services department and the L. Robert Payne School office.

Martella says interning for the Payne School, “taught me the unique aspects of working when you aren’t physically in an office setting, and helped me to reignite a passion for helping students to succeed.”

Martella’s strong sense of responsibility, ability to be independent and resourceful, risk-taking, and the ability to get out of her comfort zone have enabled her to enrich her learning experience.

“I would tell anyone that is coming to SDSU, whether they are a freshman or transfer, to get involved in as many ways as possible. College is a great opportunity to make friends and connections, and you really need to take advantage of the limited time you have to do that.”

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.