Lorene Martinez: From Unsure to a PhD

Leadville local Lorene Martinez was unsure about college. But she took one class at Colorado Mountain College. Then another. With encouragement from faculty, this single mom realized she could succeed. And she did, all the way to a PhD in microbiology from Colorado State University.

“CMC is one of the best choices I ever made,” she says.

Now Martinez researches new ways to detect tuberculosis. She helped to develop genetic fingerprinting protocols to aid in tracking the disease in cattle and wildlife.