My name is Gilbert D. Martinez, a senior lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University in San Marcos. I’m also the Academic Program Director for the Faculty-led Study Abroad Program to Japan. I’ve been fortunate to have Media Innovation Lab Assistant Director Jon Zmikly join me on this program, along with 13 journalism and mass communication students in 2019, and 14 journalism and mass communication students and Graduate Instructional Assistant Jamie Gonzalez in 2023.
In 2024, I’m excited to share this experience with my colleague Sara Shields, lecturer in the Digital Media Innovation program, along with 16 undergraduate students and graduate assistants Lisette Calderon and Vallie Figueroa.
I’m thrilled for this opportunity to teach feature writing for this program. In 2018, I spent five weeks in Japan, including a month in Nagoya with Dr. Mayumi Moriuchi’s Study Abroad Program, learning Japanese. My mother was from Okinawa, Japan, and met my father, a native of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, when he was stationed on Okinawa.
I’ve taught at Texas State since 2003 and served as assistant director in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication for seven years. I’m also a graduate of the University of Texas – Pan American and Fordham University School of Law in New York, and a former newspaper reporter at The Jersey Journal in Jersey City, N.J.
My spouse, Raeanne R. Martinez, is a former copy editor at the Austin American-Statesman and currently works as a legal editor at the Texas Legislative Council, a nonpartisan state agency. She will be joining us on this trip to Japan. We live in Austin with our sweet old lady cat, Pepper, and rambunctious young cat Mimi.
