From juvenile detention to pursuing a college education

After a difficult chapter in juvenile detention as a teenager, Jesse Lopez Martin is now studying civil engineering and finding hope and a second chance through his resilience at St. Vincent de Paul’s First-Generation Scholarship Program. 

Money was scarce in Jesse’s childhood home. He is the son of two hard-working immigrants who took on multiple physically demanding jobs in harsh environments while enduring low paying wages to provide a better life for their children. Over time, their financial struggles increased and caused strains and arguments throughout the home. This weighed heavily on Jesse. 

In his teenage years, Jesse sought to escape difficulties at home and began spending time with peers who encouraged him to engage in theft and other illicit activities as a way to earn quick money.

"I decided to take myself out of there. I went to the streets trying to seek refuge,” he said.  “I didn’t value education at all. I had seen it as meaningless."

Ultimately, his decisions led to time in juvenile detention.

This was the turning point for Jesse.

"I got caught and by the grace of God, I was saved by his mercy. He had the power to dictate my life and placed me where I am today," said Jesse.

The four months in juvenile detention were spent reflecting on his decisions. It was his second chance in life. 

"I was letting go of all of my parents' sacrifices that they made for me to be in this position and just for me to throw it away," says Jesse.

The choice to pursue higher education and chase his childhood dream of engineering was clear as day. Jesse had decided he would move away from his negative influences. When he was released, he continued his commitment to education and a fresh start. 

 I told myself, ‘I'm going to give myself that opportunity. I'm going to give that kid an opportunity to pursue that dream, and I'm going to see what goes on with that.’ 

With just a few dollars in his pocket, Jesse left behind his family and everything he had ever known and moved to Arizona. Once here, Jesse attended Phoenix Collage where a professor was amazed with Jesse’s resilience and nominated him for the St Vincent de Paul First-Generation Scholarship.

After an in-person interview, Jesse was selected as one of the recipients.

My heart jumped with excitement, I was really proud of myself. This is one step closer to that dream. One step closer to that stability. This is one step closer to my family’s future, a bright future.

The scholarship money was a financial relief for Jesse and helped with many necessities, like covering months' worth of rent. It also gave him the opportunity to be a full-time student rather than balancing a full-time job, internship, and full-time education.

If it weren’t for St Vincent de Paul, I would probably be hungry. I wouldn’t have been able to focus on my studies.

Beyond the financial support, the scholarship also offered Jesse a community, as it does for all recipients. The program is unique in its own sense as it matches students with personal mentors from their field who understand the challenges of higher education and help guide them towards success. It is a one-on-one mentoring program personalized for each scholarship recipient. 

For Jesse, his mentor was Chris, an engineer, who helped offer guidance and support throughout Jesse’s journey. While the two are in different engineering fields, Chris offers new strategies and tips on assignments and how to handle the heavy workload. With no family in Arizona, Jesse often turns to his mentor for emotional support as well. 

"My mentor gives me a call every Wednesday, it actually became something I was looking forward to, someone I could talk to about what was going on," said Jesse. 

His mentor became someone he could count on and talk to about missing home. It has helped him feel less alone. 

Jesse is studying to become a Civil engineer at Arizona State University, with the hopes of becoming a construction manager to advocate for his community.  At the age of 14, he worked alongside his father in construction and experienced many discriminations and mistreatment from supervisors. With his role, he hopes to bring a safe and fair environment for all construction workers and help create buildings no one has ever seen before.  

Today, Jesse looks forward to a structural engineering internship that he has lined up for the summer. He is set to graduate in December of 2027 and plans on continuing his education to pursue his master’s degree. 

He hopes his story will encourage others who may be facing similar struggles and credits the First-Generation Scholarship Program for the support in his journey.

I don’t think I could foresee a life where I didn’t have the St. Vincent de Paul scholarship," he said. "God always finds a way.