ASU grad finds purpose in advocating for LGBTQ+ community
By Sona Patel Srinarayana, ASU News
April 29, 2025

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2025 graduates.
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Rory Martin of Tucson, Arizona, didn’t wait until after graduation to make their impact in the world. 

Their undergraduate experience in counseling and applied psychological science brimmed with research, community efforts and student organization participation — all of which prioritized the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

After noticing a gap in mental health support for youth and young adults, especially those in LGBTQ+ communities, Martin returned to college and pursued an education in the School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology in the College of Integrative Science and Arts at Arizona State University.

With the goal of becoming a clinical psychologist, they presented research at an American Psychological Association conference on external stressors that marginalized groups endure as predictors of burnout and fatigue in nonbinary adults. Martin was also an undergraduate research assistant and gained practical experience in ASU’s online practice simulations.

Martin’s work outside of the classroom didn’t stop there. They were the vice president of Prism, a student organization that advocates for the LGBTQ+ community to ASU administration, and a historian for CAPSO, ASU's Counseling and Applied Psychological Student Organization.

Martin, who was selected as Outstanding Undergraduate Student by the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, also volunteered at ASU’s EMpowerment Lab, led by Assistant Professor Em Matsuno, to plan events for trans and nonbinary communities.

A summa cum laude student, Martin is also a mariachi musician who collaborates with other local musicians on community fundraisers to support Latino scholarships and facilitate improvements to local schools.

Following graduation, Martin plans to resume their studies at ASU as a graduate student in clinical mental health counseling with the goal of becoming a community counselor.

This story originally appeared on ASU News.