Crystal Martin
Christine Hickonbottom Council Scholar                                                   

“With or without you… the world keeps moving, so dive in and make it happen!”

This is the philosophy of Crystal Martin, a Council Scholar from Vicksburg, MS, and she is working to live that philosophy in everything she does. With dynamic passion this biology/pre-med major is looking to take on the world, with dreams of finding solutions through medical research, specifically in the areas of obstetrics and AIDS/HIV.

Until that time Martin is making a difference right where she is. Along with fellow Council Scholar, Golda Sharpe, Martin created a group at the Boys and Girls Club of Oxford called D.I.V.A.S, which means Developing Intelligent and Vivacious Achievers. “We are all about empowering these 11-to-14-year old girls to believe in themselves and their purpose in life,” she says. “We have done various community service projects and self-assessment sessions to help build the group and our relationship with the girls.”

With the responsibility of serving as a role model to young girls, Martin is excited about the leadership training she receives as a Council Scholar. “It is always important to have relationships with those who have already trudged your path. The Leadership-Mentorship Program serves as a learning experience to guide and inspire. This will still prove to be true ten years from now because I can use what I was taught to mentor and inspire someone else’s life,” she says.

Inspiring others now and in the future is high on the list of Martin’s priorities. In fact, she already has plans for giving back to the Women’s Council so that others can have the same experiences. Just as her scholarship was created to honor Edith Kelly-Green’s beloved grandmother, Martin would like to honor her grandmother with a scholarship of her own.

“I understand the type of relationship they had which reminds me so much of the love between me and my grandmother who is now deceased. I can see it now – ‘The Elizabeth Camphor Martin Scholarship’ – in honor of a remarkable woman who helped pave the way for me to climb as high as the skies could go.”