Vidal M.

Trevio School
of Communications and Fine Arts
Part of the Laredo Independent School District
2102 East Lyon St., Laredo, Texas 78043
Read The Magnet Tribune online at http://magnettribune.org
Facebook: @MagnetTribune; Twitter @ Magnet_Tribune

December 8, 2016

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Crystal Martinez is a staff writer and photographer for The Magnet Tribune student
newspaper and an award-winning journalist. She is a person with a wide range of interests.
Her published work is located online at: http://magnettribune.org/staff/?writer=Crystal
Martinez

Crystal, a member of the Class of 2017, has been a student in journalism and online media
classes at the Vidal M. Trevio School of Communications and Fine Arts (magnet school)
for two years.

As a staff member of the state- and nationally recognized student newspaper The Magnet
Tribune, Crystal has covered school events through news stories and photographs, and
events outside the school, such as a video story about a bicycle repair/sales shop at a state
university. She also teamed up to publish a video story about a university softball coach
and a student who participated in La Voz Kids on Telemundo.

Crystal, like other students in the journalism program, is required to write in print
journalism style. Students are also involved with technology by blogging and creating audio
and video productions to either accompany stories or that stand on their own, all published
over the newspapers website.

In addition, Crystal has displayed photography at the journalism programs annual

exhibition every spring at the Center for the Arts. She also participates in the yearly state-
wide competitions sponsored by the Texas Association of Journalism Educators and
Interscholastic League Press Conference.

One of Crystals stories, on VMT art instructor Gilberto Rochas mural painted for the
city of Cotulla, was selected for the newspapers website networks Best of SNO, which
is a compilation of top stories. She also received honorable mention in the Multimedia
Presentation category of the Texas Association of Journalism Educators clip contest in
2015.

Crystal is also on two newspaper staffs which have received awards for the online and
printed newspapers from the National Scholastic Press Association.

In addition, she has taken part in a partnership the VMT journalism program has with

Mark Webber, print journalism/online media instructor

mwebber004@laredoisd.org 956-273-7800
Texas State University in San Marcos, having participated in one day of activities in the
annual Mass Communication Week for two years.

In a related activity, Crystal took part in a National Press Photographer Associations video
storytelling workshop at Texas State University, where she was part of a team that created
a video story about The Bat Cave, a bicycle sales/repair shop on the universitys campus.
In another video story, not part of the workshop but taped during the trip, Crystal and
another student published a video story on university softball coach Cat Osterman.

In addition to her school newspaper work at VMT, Crystal is Senior Class historian and
volunteered to help at the schools annual Hispanic Heritage Festival.

At her home school, Martin High, Crystal will graduate under the Distinguished
Achievement Plan. She is in the top 10 percent of her class with a 95.16 grade point
average.

She is in the National Honor Society, Literary Club, participates in Gear Up IV, and plays
softball. She is also a band assistant. She was a member of the Mariachi group for three
years.

Her volunteer work includes participation in Family Reading Night and helped out in the
CSI booth at Martin High, Junior Achievement, and worked in the concession booth for
Martin High football games.

In general, Crystal is well liked and highly respected by her teachers and peers. She is
a well-rounded person, with strong communication and interpersonal skills, and has
developed her gifts as a writer and photography.

Sincerely,

Mark Webber
Instructor of journalism/online media/creative writing/CTE
Adviser, The Magnet Tribune print and online student newspaper and
Tapestry creative writing magazine