Trinidad Martinez is a graduate of New Mexico State University.  In 1976, she started a program in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico for pre-teen students with disabilities who were attending school for the first time.  Once the program was established, she moved to Albuquerque and began what would be 32 years at John Adams Middle School.  She is proud of being a member of a team that developed a program at John Adams that serves children with intense physical, educational and medical needs.  In 2010, she made the decision to retire from the public schools.  The opportunity to return to teaching at GBCS was to be another chapter in her life.  She views education as she does life.  “I believe that we carry a ‘backpack’ throughout our lives. There will be times that the load will light and life is good.  Then, at times the ‘backpack’ seems too heavy to bear.  I hope that throughout my life and as I continue as an educator, I can provide the tools and support to lighten the load when the ‘backpack’ gets too heavy”.