Texas 4-H member discovers vast opportunity during trying times

After a life-changing event, Trevor Martinez found a new purpose within his Texas 4-H family and discovered an innate interest and burgeoning passion for public speaking.

“You gain something from everything you go through,” Martinez said. “I want to give back to those around me, and one way to do that is by sharing my story.”

He said he is sharing his story to encourage others to keep pushing and showing up, even during the hard times. 

Jumping into 4-H with both feet

Martinez followed his older sisters’ footsteps and became a 4-H member when he was of age, starting his first project raising and showing poultry.

As he grew and his involvement in 4-H continued, he began competing on the Jim Wells County food challenge team and participating in the robotics program. Eventually, he participated in public speaking projects where he explored and grew in his presentation skills.

“My involvement on the food challenge team built and honed my teamwork skills,” Martinez said. “However, I really enjoyed public presentations, and they quickly became my main focus because of the impact my stories can have on other people.”

Turning trials and tribulations into service and new opportunities

But on July 18, 2018, before the start of his first year of high school, Martinez was involved in an accident, which landed him in a hospital in San Antonio. Ultimately, his health care team needed to amputate his left leg below the knee.

“My family, friends and 4-H family were there for me every step of the way,” Martinez said. “They were there for me emotionally and helped me stay positive throughout recovery.”

After the accident, Martinez had a completely different outlook on his life. “I wanted to focus more on community service and give back to those around me.”

Although the road to recovery was a long one, Martinez quickly moved from a wheelchair to crutches, then crutches to an iWalk. He adapted to his new prosthetic between November and December of 2018.

“After receiving my prosthetic, I immediately wanted to start serving,” said Martinez. “The first week on my new prosthetic, I worked at a feast of sharing at an H-E-B in Corpus Christi. It felt good to finally be able to serve the community on my own.”

Giving back to his 4-H family

He said after his accident, he was also encouraged to serve on the Texas 4-H Council.

“My county agent really motivated me, and others pushed me to run for a state council position as an at large delegate,” Martinez said. “I was blessed to be able to serve on the 2020-2021 council.”

Before the 2019 Texas 4-H Roundup, Martinez connected with Jana Barrett, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist, and Montza Williams, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension 4-H program director, asking if he could share his life-changing story as encouragement to others. He gave an inspirational presentation at Reed Arena that changed not only him but impacted 4-H’ers from across the state.

“Being able to speak at 4-H Roundup was an amazing opportunity to encourage people to keep moving forward when times get tough,” Martinez said. “However, it meant more to me than that. It was also a form of showing gratitude and publicly saying thank you to my 4-H family and others who supported me.”

Life after Texas 4-H

In addition to graduating high school and finishing his time on the Texas 4-H Council, Martinez spent four years serving as a certified peer visitor for the Amputee Coalition.

“As a certified peer visitor, I spent time talking to kids who have gone through amputation,” Martinez said. “My goal was to create a personal connection with them and make sure those kids were doing OK mentally, emotionally and physically.”

Now, he is a sophomore studying biology at the Texas A&M College of Arts and Sciences. After graduating, he plans to find disease therapeutics and help others in any way he can.

After going through a life-changing event at such a young age, Martinez’s best advice is to not be afraid and start trying new things.

He said although the opportunities can seem overwhelming, the act of stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new could cause a fantastic domino effect of doors opening in your favor.