A South Bronx single mom’s improbable journey from prison to Columbia University grad is an inspiration — especially to her college-bound son.
Leyla Martinez will receive her bachelor’s degree in human rights from the prestigious school on May 14, a fitting end to a story of redemption that’s an Ivy League lesson in breaking barriers.
“From formerly incarcerated to the Ivy League. I like that,” Martinez told the Daily News as she tried on her aqua blue gown a week before the big day. “Never in a million years did I think I would be standing here getting ready to graduate.”
Martinez’s path to the Columbia commencement began three years ago when she brought her then 16-year-old son Derek Ramirez to visit the college in hopes he’d be interested in attending.
“Can you imagine you being here? Can you imagine me coming to your graduation in four years?” she asked him at the time.
He immediately shook his head with an emphatic, “no.”
“They would never accept me,” he told her.
Martinez set out to show her son that anything is possible.
The 43-year-old, who struggled to find work after serving time for credit card fraud, took some classes at Hunter College and maintained a 3.6 GPA.
But the elite Morningside Heights college was calling her.
“I said, ‘You know what? I’m going to apply. What’s the worst that can happen?'” she recalled.
Her expectations were shattered when her phone rang. It was the Columbia admissions office.
“I almost had a heart attack,” she recalled. “Columbia was beyond my pay-grade. The first time I came to campus I got goosebumps. This place was beautiful.”
It was worlds away from the cell where she spent two years of her life.
“Now instead of visiting me in prison, my family will come see me graduate. It’s going to be a dream,” she said. “I really did it because I wanted him to see that he should always reach for the stars. They have accepted me for who I am.”
Her son, now 19, beamed as he posed for photos a few steps away from the Columbia gates. “This is so cool. I’m so proud of her.”
Now, both mother and son are bound by their bookish pursuits thanks to Martinez’s motivational sojourn.
“She inspired me. She encouraged me to apply for college too,” Derek told The News.
He’s a freshman at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Martinez’s long road to Columbia began back in 2001 when her boyfriend was arrested for selling drugs. Derek was just a baby, she recalled.
“He was here illegally. He couldn’t find a job. He had to support his son. It was a tough situation,” she said.
Life got tougher still, she said.
“I lost my source of support. I couldn’t cover the rent. I lost my apartment. I was trying to get myself out of that situation,” she said. “I was in a tough place. I had this kid I had to support.”
She soon found herself in a desperate spot, dropping out of Hunter and turning to a life of crime to get by.
Martinez was caught committing credit card fraud for a quick buck.
“I wanted to be able to provide for my son,” she said. “I wasn’t proud of it.”
She spent the next two years behind bars at Rikers Island and upstate at the Beacon Correctional Facility. “He thought I was in school when he was visiting me,” she said of Derek’s visits. “He was too young. I didn’t know how to explain it to him.” Back on the outside, Martinez struggled to find work, her past in prison preventing her from lifting herself up.
“I couldn’t get a job as a secretary. They would ask me about my time in prison. I had panic attacks, anxiety,” she said. “I knew I wanted to set a better example for my son and wanted to change my life. I wanted to show my son that you didn’t have to live like this.”
In 2014, Martinez took matters into her own hands and wrote letters to elected officials and deans at her old alma mater, Hunter College.
“I made sure people knew what my past was and that they were still going to give me a freaking opportunity because you want me to be a productive member of society,” she said with a bittersweet smile. “I even wrote to (former President Barack) Obama.”
The former President didn’t respond. But doors started to open after a Hunter College dean reached out and helped her re-enroll.
Others led her to Columbia’s Justice in Education initiative, a program that pushes former prisoners to take college courses.
“It was an ordeal to get here,” Martinez admitted.
Eileen Gillooly, one of the Justice program creators, remains hopeful Martinez’s story will inspire more than just her son.
“I’m a little teary,” Gillooly admitted. “When we started the program we weren’t sure how it was going to succeed. We have Leyla applying here. And now she’s a star.”
Last year, The News featured a former Latin Kings gang member, Richard Gamarra, who graduated from Columbia after serving seven years for assault and weapons convictions.
Martinez said she’s ready to dedicate her life to helping fellow former inmates succeed in the real world.
The first step is barring employers and colleges from asking about people’s past behind bars, she said.
“Imagine walking around with the worst choice that you ever made stamped on your head. That’s what it feels like for me,” she said. “That question keeps many people like me from applying to college and jobs.”
As she gets ready to pick up her diploma alongside some of the brightest minds in the nation next week, Martinez said she hopes to remain an inspiration.
“Don’t give up. Fight,” she advised. “This has not been an easy journey. Nothing is easy in life. Just keep fighting.”
Her son smiled in agreement.
“Maybe I’ll apply to Columbia one day. She taught me you can do anything.”
