Finding a balance

Iman Martin is an expert at juggling. The newly elected United Minorities Council chair balances a demanding academic schedule with a variety of extracurricular activities -- and stays sane through it all. And though she is only a College sophomore, Martin has figured out her priorities. Even with a crazy finals schedule that would send many into a panic and cause them to cut off all contact with the outside world, Martin still went to Sulzberger Middle School to work with students in an after-school health education program. "No matter how busy I get, community service is never something I am not going to do," she explained adamantly. And as the UMC Chair -- a position she shares with College junior Jen Kwon -- Martin will continue to have her hands full. "I keep myself tremendously busy," Martin said. As Kwon spends the semester studying abroad in France, Martin will find the majority of UMC responsibilities on her shoulders. Next fall, she hopes to head abroad to Ghana while Kwon returns to head the organization. And in preparation, Martin has opted to study Twi, a Ghanaian language, as she works to fulfill her language requirement. "I wanted something new and I wanted to expand my cultural knowledge," she said, explaining why she chose to learn Twi. And though she wants to expand her horizons, she didn't travel far from home when she came to Penn. In fact, she can walk home whenever she wants, having grown up just blocks from campus. But when she was younger, Martin had no intention of spending her college years at the school just blocks away from her home. "I swore I wasn't going to Penn," she said with a sheepish smile. Ultimately, she chose to come to Penn -- her mother's alma mater -- to stay near home. Martin said that she changed her mind, in part, because she realized that "growth wasn't in distance -- it was in the mind." And so far, she has lived up to that statement. Martin is a double major in the History and Sociology of Science and Fine Arts, and academics occupy much of her time. However, she doesn't let that stop her from being an active member of the Penn community. As a freshman, Martin attended her first UMC meeting at the urging of College senior Jerome Byam -- who has just finished his term as UMC Chair -- and then-UMC Chair Chaz Howard. Elections were taking place that night and, though it was her first inside glimpse at the UMC, Martin took a chance and ran for admissions co-chair on the spot. "It was really random," she remembered. But UMC members "could tell that I was this kid who cared about her community." And Martin was elected to a position she said she has thoroughly enjoyed over the last year. She explained that for her, the job's necessary interaction with the pre-frosh -- "answering the questions, seeing the nervous energy" -- was the best part of the position. Martin's job also gave her the opportunity to tackle issues of minority recruitment, allowing her to work side-by-side-with admissions officials. "I was lucky to get to see that," she said. Besides the UMC, Martin currently helps teach at the after-school health education program Masters of Health at Sulzberger Middle School. Working in health education makes sense for Martin, who wants to go on to medical school and ultimately hopes to earn an M.D. Ph.d. She hopes to do research in epidemiology -- the study of disease -- and said she is specifically interested in studying "the cultural ramifications of disease." Though she enjoys being actively involved in campus life, she also appreciates having her own space, which she has found in her Sansom East residence. With a room to herself, Martin has a place to study and a place where she can indulge her artistic side. "I paint and I draw," she said, explaining that the artistic process necessitates a place where she can spread out. The grad towers offer more than personal space for Martin, who explained that graduate students offer great insight to undergraduates. "[They've] been there, done that," she reflected. "They put everything in perspective." Martin will need perspective and vision as she tries to balance her new UMC responsibilities with her other commitments. Because they are the first people to split the position, Kwon and Martin face the additional challenge of figuring out how they will coordinate sharing the chair. And both are very aware that communication will be key. "Thank goodness for technology," Martin said, smiling and breathing a sigh of relief. She and Kwon will rely heavily on e-mails and telephone calls over the semester. Martin stressed that responsibility within the the UMC is shared. "It's going to work because... it is not us two," she said, citing the importance of the board and the constituent group representatives and members. Martin sees her new role as that of a facilitator and a liaison and is quick to point out the importance of dialogue -- both within the UMC and across campus as a whole -- in working toward her goals as chair. "I want to see discourse on campus," Martin said. "I love conversation -- it does so much." And she also hopes to see an increase in the number of minorities and non-minorities alike working on diversity issues on campus. "I can't change the world," Martin explained, saying she can only help start the process of change. "I can work with other people and promote other people working with other people. "That's all I intend to do."

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