Faces of Long Island celebrates the uniqueness of everyday Long Islanders. In their own words, they tell us about their life experiences, challenges and triumphs. Newsday launched this social media journey into the human experience to shine a light on the diverse people of this wonderful place we call home.

‘If I can build bridges and come up with solutions for other folks who are struggling, then I’m doing what I’ve always needed to do.’

Stevens Martinez, Glen Cove

“When I was in college, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I thought the easy path for me to be successful was go to college, study finance and make money on Wall Street. But I learned quickly that if you don’t have a passion for the work you’re doing, you’re not going to succeed. I wasn’t doing that well my first year in college. I had this lack of motivation.

“But then the 2016 election came around. It was Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton. Something about Trump rising to the platform that he had and eventually becoming president switched the light on in my brain. I’ll never forget that night; I just knew that this is what I needed to dedicate the rest of my life to.

At the end of the day, I love working in government and channeling my passion into public service.

“I ended up switching majors to the public policy and public service degree program. I interned in the New York State Assembly in 2018. I graduated from Hofstra University in 2019, and the very next day started working in the Nassau County comptroller’s office for about two and a half years. After I left Nassau County, I ended up working at NBCUniversal on their government affairs team for a couple of months before I came to the governor’s office.

“Now I’m the Nassau County regional representative for Gov. [Kathy] Hochul. The primary responsibility of my job is to be the direct point of contact for the governor’s office in Nassau County. There’s been times where my identity as an openly gay, Gen Z, first-generation Salvadoran American has put up a hurdle for me, but it’s never been a hard brick wall. I do recognize that other people put labels on me. But at the end of the day, I love working in government and channeling my passion into public service. I know what it feels like to grow up in a society where you’re not always supported, and not always expected to succeed just because of who you are.

“If I can build bridges and come up with solutions for other folks who are struggling, then I’m doing what I’ve always needed to do. In the future, my mission is to get more young people up and involved in government and politics. Maybe some of us are not ready to be leading that path, but at the very least, we need to be at the table listening, engaging and learning.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

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Faces of Long Island is produced by Newsday Consumer Marketing. This content does not involve the reporting and editing staff of Newsday’s Editorial Department.