JTC 24: Seeking Better Opportunities

Neyda Martinez is the perfect example of a generational pursuit of the American Dream. She was born in California, but her parents, Jose and Maria Solis, moved to Pontotoc County in 2000, when she was 5 years old.

"At that time, I was monolingual, so I only spoke Spanish and I didn't learn English until I started grade school," Martinez said. "I did not master it until around fourth or fifth grade."

Both her parents were from small, rural areas of Mexico and immigrated to the United States to seek better opportunities. Though neither of them completed a high school diploma, the focus for their children was primarily school, and they instilled the idea of academic success into their three children from a young age.

As she gets set to graduate with a law degree from the University of Mississippi in May, Martinez is fulfilling that idea so deeply imparted to her throughout her childhood.

"Growing up, my parents always said, 'You don't have to work a job; your job is school," she said. "This is why we came to this country – for you. So that you could pursue higher education, so that you don't have to work as hard as we have, so that you don't have to do manual labor like us.'

"By the time I got to high school, I was the interpreter of choice for our principal, and I remember sitting in meetings with him and other students, primarily children of immigrants."

It was then that she first noticed a lack of resources for Spanish speakers in the area.

After high school, she attended Itawamba Community College and majored in business management, but it was an accounting course during her sophomore year that heavily influenced her trajectory.

"I was at the beginning of my educational career," she said. "I was focused, paid attention in class and sat front row. I didn't talk to anyone. I dressed appropriately. I commuted to school every day, so I wasn't living the traditional college life.

"At that moment in my life, I had one mission. I remember thinking, 'OK, this is what my parents have been talking about.'"

One her classes was taught by Max Edwards, an attorney who was teaching part-time while he transitioned from big law to opening his own firm, and he needed help.

"My accounting professor, who unbeknownst to me was an attorney, pulls me to the side one day after class and I recall thinking, "Surely I am not in trouble,"" she said.

Instead, Edwards offered Martinez a job as a legal assistant.

I realized the great need that there is for a Hispanic attorney in northeast Mississippi where I was raised. The realization of this need has kept me on course."

"As a student, Neyda jumped off the page: smart, organized and always on time and prepared for class," Edwards said. "Observing her ability to multitask while performing her job at a high professional level, it was at that point that I knew Neyda would be a great candidate for law school."

Of the unexpected opportunity, Martinez likes to share with younger generation of students that you never know who's watching.

"And, so there I was at age 19, presented with this opportunity to work for an attorney, without having any connections in the legal field," she said. "I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, but I did not truly know what it entailed.

"Being a first-generation student, I needed guidance in figuring out how to achieve this goal."

She accepted the position and began working full-time while she completed her associate degree. Following that, she completed her paralegal technology degree.

"I think that when it is your purpose to do something or be something, God is going to put you in that place," she said.

Martinez worked at the firm for seven years, through the entirety of her undergraduate career at Ole Miss, where she majored in business management.

Balancing studies and work are difficult, and she had the added obstacle of becoming a new mom. By the time she was a senior at UM, she and her husband had two young children.

"Having children definitely put a small dent in my plans, but I knew I had to finish my undergraduate degree," Martinez said. "At that point, law school seemed like an even more distant goal."

But her experience within the law firm and her community made her want to continue with her plan to pursue a law degree to serve others.

"While working as a paralegal, I realized the great need that there is for a Hispanic attorney in northeast Mississippi where I was raised," she said. "The realization of this need has kept me on course. I felt like I had a calling to do this."

With the support of her family, she left the law firm and began a legal education at the School of Law in 2021.

"When Neyda was accepted into the Ole Miss law school, it was a bittersweet moment for me," Edwards said. "I was so proud of her accomplishment, yet sad to be losing her as a wonderful employee.

"I never doubted that she would do well in law school and graduate."

When she started law school, her children were 4 and 5 years old.

"We embraced, then embarked on this journey together, and it has truly been the best experience for me to be here," Martinez said.

With her children starting elementary school simultaneously, she has been able to hone in on her studies in ways she was unable to during her undergraduate career. She has earned her Juris Doctor, graduating with honors.

"I've juggled being a full-time mom, full-time employee during undergrad, and law school has been the first time that that I have had the opportunity to focus solely on my studies," she said. "I think that when you really enjoy a subject, you're really passionate about it and you've put in so much work and dedication, it just shows and the grades reflect that."

Besides her academic achievements, Martinez participated in multiple student organizations, including La Alianza, a Latino law student association; Magnolia Defenders; the Gorove Society for International Law; and the student chapter of the Mississippi Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division. She also served in two of the law school's clinical programs.

"From the first time I met Neyda, it was clear how committed she is to her local community and to using her law degree for their benefit," said Cliff Johnson, director of the MacArthur Justice Clinic. "While in the clinic, Neyda's life experience prior to law school really bore fruit.

"She had a practical and technical knowledge of litigation that few students possess. Neyda has been a joy to have around, and we're going to miss her. I know she'll do great things."

Raising two young children, she said, helped with the discipline of a schedule that involved studying, coursework and extracurriculars. She would drop her children off at school at 8 a.m. and go straight to the Grisham Law Library, where she would study, then attend classes throughout the day and leave in time to pick them back up.

"Finishing law school represents the culmination of a lot of hard work and the achievement of hopes and dreams for myself, my parents and my community," she said. "I am proof that when you want to achieve something greater, and you are willing to work hard, put forth the necessary effort and manage your time accordingly, anything is possible."

Martinez plans to take the Mississippi Bar Exam in July and will be joining a litigation firm in Oxford.

See more photos from Neyda Martinez's Journey to Commencement