Frank Martinez walked onto the Saint Mary's College campus in Moraga as a first-generation college student whose mother attended school only through second grade in Mexico.

A decade after earning his master's degree there, he's been named San Joaquin County's 2026 School Counselor of the Year.

Martinez, who graduated from Saint Mary's with a bachelor's degree in history in 2012 and completed a master of arts in counseling with a focus on school counseling in 2016, works at Weston Elementary School in the Ripon Unified School District. He has served students in grades TK–8 since 2021 and has 10 years of total counseling experience, according to the San Joaquin County Office of Education.

The Kalmanovitz School of Education featured Martinez in an alumni spotlight published Monday, July 13, 2026. Martinez has said the program shaped his bilingual approach to student support.

"It's surreal," Martinez told The Stockton Record in April. "Being a first-generation student in the education setting and almost having the imposter syndrome in the last 10 years, but actually being named School Counselor of the Year tells me that I'm not an imposter, that I am who I am, and a really good school counselor."

Martinez grew up in Patterson, California. His parents, he told the Record, "had no idea what the school system was about." That experience drives his work with families navigating schools for the first time.

Weston Elementary Principal Lisa Fereria nominated Martinez for the award, writing in her nomination letter that he has made "a remarkable impact on students from kindergarten through eighth grade." Fereria highlighted Martinez's Lunch Bunch program, where students meet during lunch to discuss social issues, stress management, and emotional wellness. She said the program has improved peer relationships and strengthened students' confidence and sense of belonging.

Martinez described one student who was quiet and timid when they met in sixth grade. That student is now the Associated Student Body president and makes the morning announcements as an eighth-grader.

The San Joaquin County Office of Education honored Martinez at its Excellence in Education Celebration Dinner on Thursday, April 9, at the SJCOE offices. The award carries a $500 prize sponsored by Self-Help Federal Credit Union.