Two SDSU Alumni Named Top San Diego County Teachers
Don Dumas and Hilda Martinez, who received credentials from the College of Education, were honored for their work and commitment to students.
Two San Diego State University alumni have been honored as San Diego County Teachers of the Year. Don Dumas (’08, ’10, ’16) and Hilda Martinez (’98, ’01, ’16) were among five recipients of the award at the 29th Salute to Teachers awards ceremony on Sept. 7.
Dumas and Martinez were selected from a field of 42 nominees drawn from more than 22,000 public school teachers countywide. As a result of the honor, presented by the San Diego County Office of Education and Cox Communications, Dumas and Martinez are now in the running for California Teacher of the Year later this year.
“Graduates of our teacher education programs are making a positive difference in the lives of young people in San Diego County on a daily basis,” said Y. Barry Chung, dean of the College of Education. “Hilda, Don and all our inspiring alumni nominees exemplify that fact. I am grateful for their service to our community.”
Hilda Martinez
Martinez teaches at Zamorano Fine Arts Academy in San Diego’s South Bay Terraces community where she works with struggling readers of all ages at the elementary level. She said she relishes the opportunity to help students push through barriers.
“When you see their eyes light up because they’re able to do something that just a few weeks ago they couldn’t, that is what it’s all about,” Martinez said. “They start to see themselves as capable learners. That, for me, is the most rewarding part.”
Martinez’s Aztec ties run deep. She earned her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, master’s degree in curriculum and instruction and Preliminary Administrative Services Credential from SDSU, and has served as a guide teacher to more than 30 SDSU student teachers.
“I couldn’t ever have imagined going anywhere else.” Martinez said. “The professors that I’ve had at SDSU have not only been impactful, but they have driven most of what I do in the classroom.”
Don Dumas
Dumas, who counts himself as someone who nearly fell through the cracks as a young student, now works to empower young people at Bonita Vista High in Chula Vista, where he teaches AP U.S. history and coaches the varsity boys’ basketball team.
The teacher of the year award, he said, was a credit to his professors in his credential and Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at SDSU, as well as his current colleagues in the teaching profession.
“This inspires me to want to put myself out there — to be an advocate for public school teachers and public school students as best I can,” Dumas said. “I want to try to help recruit people into this profession, but also help bring attention to some of the lingering inequities in the school system. There are children who are still not receiving the same opportunities as others.”
