Junior Ramiro Martinez felt a calling to pursue a nursing degree. In 2012, he received a heart transplant and witnessed what careers in the medical field were available. This piqued his interest in the industry, but it was another stay in the hospital that convinced him to become a nurse.

“I spent nine months in the hospital before coming to MSOE and it was during this time that I got to see what nurses do and this helped me decide that I truly wanted to be a nurse,” said Martinez. 

Studying on the traditional nursing track at MSOE, Martinez has been able to rotate on clinicals and enjoyed his various hands-on courses covering the different aspects of nursing. His favorite courses have been anatomy and physiology and his first clinical class, health assessment. Currently, he is on a medical surgical clinical rotation where he follows up with patients who are receiving care after surgery before they are discharged. He will also get to work with patients pre-surgery on this rotation.

Being at a small, close-knit university has given Martinez the opportunity to connect with both his fellow nursing students and faculty. He and his classmates work together and help each other with their studies to prepare for their assessments and rotations.

“Everyone wants to be helpful, especially the faculty members. If I have a question, they are more than willing to help me try and figure out what I am missing. This allows me to be successful in my courses because I can go to office hours with questions and know I will get help.”

Another way he is able to engage with the MSOE community is through student organizations. He is the president of Student Nursing Association (SNA), vice president of Student Government Association (SGA) and a member of the Nursing Honors Society (NHS). Martinez is also a Resident Assistant (RA) for the Nursing Living Learning Community in Grohmann Tower, a floor dedicated to nursing students that provides study groups and other academic and social resources. 

After graduation, Martinez would like to work in a Pediatric Cardiology Intensive Care Unit (CICU). He also would like to do travel nursing and his dream nursing role would be serving as a flight nurse, providing care to those being transported to medical facilities via aircraft.

In his free time Martinez enjoys reading, especially fantasy novels, fishing, watching and playing baseball and attending concerts, specifically for country artists. The Yorkville, Illinois native also enjoys that at MSOE, he is close enough to home where he can go back for a weekend to spend time with his family and friends.