ACOMA - When Dana Martinez decided to earn her college degree she became the second person in the Martinez family to do so. Her father was the first in his family of ten children to go to college, though they all had opportunities.

Graduation photo of Dana Ruth Martinez, soon to be professional.BEACON / MARMON

Galen Martinez and his five brothers were runners. His brothers were offered scholarships for cross country but weren't interested in college. Ironically, it was Galen, the second oldest of five brothers and five sisters, who chose to advance his prospects in the world. He earned his degree by working hard and without the assistance of scholarship money.

Dana attended Sky City Community School and on a fifth-grade field trip to University of New Mexico, she was hooked on the idea of higher education. She decided that she wanted to write for a women's magazine and earned her degree in Journalism and Mass Communication at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

“I've always been a pretty good writer and I've won a couple of writing contests. One was the Daniel's Fund Scholarship and in the seventh grade I won $24 in an essay contest about “How the World Doesn't Need Guns.”

It took Dana seven years to finish her bachelor's degree. For two years, she couldn't afford her tuition because she had lost her scholarship due to difficulty managing her time, and she beginning to feel burned out. She decided to take time off to work and save up for her tuition. Finally, her parents helped her with tuition, room and board, and books for the last two years.

There was a little aid from the Acoma tribe during Dana's first three semesters. Through a tribal program, Martinez received one-third of her unmet need which amounted to about $900.

Despite her struggle to finish the final years, Martinez graduated in May and is now sending out resumes to newspapers and advertising agencies.

“I have more direction than when I was a freshman. I started out wanting to be in print and drifted into advertising,” said the shy grad.

Dana's mother, Crystal, said that her daughter is very shy, and the degree was a huge achievement for her.

Her father, now a high school coach and math teacher in Gallup, said he is very proud of her.

“It opened up the world for her. Now she has the background to get a different job and she is better off than some who are on the reservation, in this economy,” said her father.

Both of Martinez' parents agree that their daughter has changed during the final two years of struggling to finish her degree.

“She's shy, but not like she once was,” said her father. “She can give a speech to crowd. Before, she would have had to read it from a paper.”

The young grad was so shy that once, when she was working on a team for an advertising project for a Phoenix firm, the other team members wanted her off the team because she was afraid to hurt people's feelings.

“I've always been proud of her and her accomplishments,” said her father.

Her mother simply said that she feels “Relief. She really learned a lot about determination.”

“She struggled and we struggled along with her. She felt guilty about relying on us. I told her, don't worry about it. She's always been a good daughter. I knew she could do it,” said her confident mother.

Martinez, now in Seattle with her boyfriend stationed at Fort Lewis, said, “They've been there for me since day one. I wouldn't have earned my degree without them.”