Leah Martin '06 - China
“I never would have thought that a small town girl like me would ever be able to hop a plane around the world to China and meet with analysts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
From Mandeville, in southern Louisiana , Leah moved to northern Louisiana to attend The Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, a college preparatory high school for gifted and talented students in Louisiana . Leah focused on the humanities, taking a lot of art, history, culture and language classes. She was active with Amnesty International and became President of LSMSA's chapter her senior year.
Trinity offered Leah a healthy financial aid package, and she was eager for a change from rural Louisiana , so she opted for D.C.
Activist at an early age, Lean enjoyed working for the Young Democrats, and has continued her interest in politics here at Trinity, where she majors in Political Science. Leah is a bundle of energy, working full time and yet able to maintain a very impressive GPA. She has been very resourceful in taking advantage of the many opportunities Trinity has to offer, and was particularly impressed by a course that she took with Dr. Peters-Gant, “Spies and Analysts.”
Leah's Mission on Diplomacy took her to China , from May 25 through June 9. She enjoyed a crash course on all facets of the Chinese Government and met with emerging leaders. Interested in the humanities with a focus on politics, she is interested to see how China and the United States can work together and build on their ties through diplomacy, and was very grateful for this opportunity to travel, which she would not have been able to do on her own.
Leah recounts how she was “Shanghaied in Shanghai ”:
“Growing up in the backwoods of south Louisiana, even at a very young age, I always had a keen desire to explore the unknown. Whether I was roaming the hidden moss-covered trails along the bayous or sampling exotic cuisine at the various festivals, I was constantly fascinated and curious about culture and the world around me. My curiosity is what led me to Washington, DC and ultimately to my interest in the Intelligence Community.
Through the Intelligence Community Center for Academic Excellence at Trinity, I, along with eight other amazingly talented women were granted the opportunity of a lifetime; a chance to travel the world. With very few restrictions we were allowed to select the program and destination of our choice. For me, China seemed like a natural choice.
In May of 2005 I flew from Washington, DC to Beijing to begin my journey into the east with International Mission on Diplomacy and fifty other university students from all over the US . While in China, I became a hero by climbing the Badaling section of the Great Wall, became enlightened by walking the seven levels of the Wild Goose Pagoda, stood among an ancient army of terra cotta warriors, danced in a musical fountain with the children of Xi'an, took a cruise on a dragon boat at the summer palace, met and discussed foreign policy with analysts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, got Shanghaied in Shanghai, sampled some of the most exotic cuisine on the planet, purposely got lost and found myself again on the streets of Beijing, and made some of the best memories of my life!
Now that I have literally been to China and back I cannot wait to see more of what this fabulous planet has to offer. I want to thank Trinity , the ICCAE, International Missions and all of the staff that worked tirelessly for making this trip possible. It was an experience of a lifetime.”