Name: Brandon Martinez
Major: Biological Sciences
Grade: Sophomore
Hometown: Pleasanton
Relationship Status: Single
What has been the best part about winter quarter?: Honestly, the weather has been coming in pretty clutch so far. Last year it was constantly raining and biking to class felt like crossing a tundra. This quarter, it’s been warm for the most part which gets me really
stoked for spring. It’s bittersweet though because I haven’t been able to snowboard as much this season due to the lack of rain.
Any special plans for spring break?: Normally I never get to do anything exciting for spring break, but this year I’m going down to LA to stay the week with one of my roommates. I haven’t actually visited LA before, so I’m leaving the plans up to my friend. We will most likely go to some clubs in Hollywood and try to hit the slopes at
Mountain High, but I’m thinking we will spend a majority of our time at the beach.
How do you stay involved here at UC Davis?: I’m mainly involved in my fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. After student housing messed up my roommate request and placed me in Cuarto last fall, Greek life seemed like the best option for me to get the college experience I was looking for. SAE was the best choice I made as a freshman, and I couldn’t be happier with where it’s brought me to today. This year, I’ve had responsibilities from chronicling all of our events to organizing our most recent rush period.
I also worked at the CoHo starting in the spring, by far the best job I’ve ever had. I met so many people working there and it was really cool to have a job on campus. Unfortunately, I had to quit last quarter to concentrate on studies, but I hope that in the future I will be able to resume employment there.
I’ve been trying to expand my involvement in other areas of campus that aren’t Greek related. My friend in the ASA (Armenian Students Association) started getting me involved in the club. It was after their Tahoe trip that I realized a lot of their members were really cool and down to earth, and I decided I to join the club and learn about their culture.
What are your plans after college?: I’ve changed my post-college plans a lot since orientation. I’m definitely sure that I want to pursue higher-education past my undergraduate degree. I might pursue a professional degree, but I have no idea what I want to study. For the most part, I’m very interested in science, specifically biology, so I’m hoping to do research in a branch of biology that I find both beneficial and profitable. While it’s not necessarily plausible right now, I would really like to travel around different parts of the world and incorporate it into to my research.
What is something most people don’t know about you?: Most people don’t know that I tend to be very abstract and philosophical when I think. I’m always down to have a good intellectual conversation with someone about the merits of something, whether it be life, religion, politics, space and time, or science. As long as there is something beyond the superficial details to discuss, I am intrigued with what other people have to say. There have been countless times that I’ve lost a couple hours of studying because I’ve gotten stuck in a 2-3 hour conversation with someone.
Who do you look up to and why?: Both of my parents are great role models. I’ve learned so much from watching how they interact with the people around them. They are very moderate in all of their opinions and always open to my thoughts and opinions. Without my dad, I definitely wouldn’t have my humor, and without my Mom, I don’t think I would be as mature or open about new things. I hope that one day I can give my own kid as much as my parents were able to give to me.
Most embarrassing moment?: My freshman year of high school, all of my good friends joined the volleyball team. Wanting to fit in, I told my mom that over the summer I wanted to do a volleyball camp so I could try out the next year. Basically, I show up to this camp the first day with ZERO experience, and that summer I was at a solid 5 foot 2 inches (maybe). I walk inside the gym and realize that the camp consists of me, along with 200+ girls who all attend my high school. I could tell that I was getting some weird stares and spent the first hour doubting that I was actually at the right camp. The next 6-8 hours consisted of me humiliating myself and wishing I had never showed up. Needless to say, I didn’t complete the rest of the camp.
A QUICKIE (survey) with the Campus Cutie:
Favorite color?: Green
Childhood nick name: Marty
Three pet peeves: People who take things too seriously, stubbornness, blatant disrespect and ignorance.
I love it when..: A girl is down to earth and can make me laugh
Celebrity crush: Sofia Vergara
Favorite movie: Watchmen
Favorite feature in a girl: Eyes
Dream vacation: Barcelona, Spain
Favorite fast food joint: It’s not really fast food, but SAM’s Mediterranean food on 3rd Street is my favorite place to eat in Davis.
And most importantly, boxers or briefs?: Briefs