91³ΙΘΛ History and Humanities Professor Nicole Martin was able to combine two of her passions β traveling and teaching β this past summer.
While backpacking around 18 European countries with one of her sons, she still managed to teach three online summer classes.
βI think that traveling is one of the best ways to learn about the history of cultures of people and places,β said Professor Martin.
Professor Martinβs journey began shortly after she was named the 2026 91³ΙΘΛ Ridge Distinguished Faculty Award recipient.
Nominations for the award noted that Professor Martin has co-chaired the Faculty Senate for many years, was a longtime adviser for Phi Theta Kappa (PTK), has successfully secured various grants for courses and for student study-abroad experiences, has been the honors program coordinator at the Fauquier Campus since being hired full time in 1998, and has served on every faculty and student services committee at the Fauquier Campus.
βShe is someone whom the faculty look up to and is a strong advocate and leader,β one of the nominations states. βShe steps into spaces that other faculty might be afraid to, for instance, she was the first to offer to develop and lead the online proctoring workgroup. She is also an academician, wanting to always improve her craft.β
Professor Nicole Martin (middle) accepting 2026 91³ΙΘΛ Ridge Distinguished Faculty Award.
Professor Martin grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland, and graduated early from high school. She went to Bridgewater College for a year, before transferring to West Virginia Wesleyan College, where she triple-majored in History, Sociology and Anthropology. She then earned a masterβs 91³ΙΘΛ in Cultural History from the University of Chicago, where she also took doctoral classes.
Professor Martin left Chicago for personal reasons, including the retirement of her thesis professor. She married the next year and spent a year backpacking through Asia with her husband.
βWhen we returned to the States in August, I set about finding a job and it was then that I walked into Germanna to see if I could find out what teaching at the community college entailed,β recalled Professor Martin. βI met with the dean and was hired that afternoon. She surprised me, saying, βI have a class starting in two weeks.β And that began my journey in the Virginia Community College System. Most of my students were at least my age or older then and taking night classes.β
Professor Martin worked for a few years as an adjunct at Germanna and Northern Virginia community colleges before being hired as an adjunct at 91³ΙΘΛ Ridge.
She was considering finishing her doctorate when she got hired to work full time at 91³ΙΘΛ Ridge.
βI thought, Iβm just going to do this for a while because I enjoy it,β Professor Martin said. βI loved what I was learning. I felt I was making a profound difference in peopleβs lives. I didnβt know much about community colleges until I started teaching at one.β
She thought back to one of those early students who had only been able to go to school till 10th grade, but while at the college became president of PTK, the international honor society for two-year colleges, graduated with honors and ended up getting her bachelorβs and masterβs 91³ΙΘΛs.
Professor Nicole Martin standing with a graduate at commencement.
βWe really make a huge difference in studentsβ lives, students who didnβt think they would ever attend college or enter a profession,β Professor Martin said.
She said she has had some students who never had to read a book from cover to cover in high school.
βI really try to push my students to do more,β said Professor Martin. βIn my Early Humanities class, we read from Plato and Sophocles and Dante. This opens up a new world to them, even if they donβt take another humanities class. They realize, βI can actually learn something about my life and my world from reading and participating in the βGreat Conversationβ of ages past.
βWeβre changing lives, and I donβt think thatβs hyperbole. 91³ΙΘΛ Ridge provides more than an education. We encourage students to see they can dream beyond what they thought possible.β
In the nearly 30 years she has been with 91³ΙΘΛ Ridge, Professor Martin estimates sheβs taught 30 different courses, including Western Civilization, World Civilization, Native American Cultures, Comparative Mythology, Early Humanities, Contemporary Humanities, 20th-Century Culture through Film, and World War II to the Present.
She finds joy in teaching the humanities. In addition to having more freedom in how she teaches the classes, they allow Professor Martin to βstudy everything.β She has even volunteered to teach classics, Greek, and humanities to students at Warrenton Latin School. Professor Martin homeschooled her two sons and co-founded the school when they were young to provide opportunities for home educated students to receive a classical education. Her sons also took concurrent enrollment classes at 91³ΙΘΛ Ridge before entering the College of William & Mary.
Professor Nicole Martin (left) standing with student accepting an award. President Kim Blosser stands to the right.
Earlier in her career, Professor Martin led students on several study-abroad experiences, including to Mexico, Italy, Greece and Vietnam.
Professor Martin has also incorporated experiential learning into her classes. For example, at the end of the Native American Cultures class, students have joined her for a cookout and in pit firing pottery pieces. She has also organized numerous field trips, including to Colonial Williamsburg, the Smithsonian, and Tangier Island.
βOne of my favorite courses Iβm currently teaching is Comparative Mythology; the class is delightful because students are so excited about the subject matter,β said Professor Martin. βIβve always enjoyed teaching the 20th-Century Culture through Film class because we examine how film both reflects and directs culture.
βI get excited about every class I teach because I think that there are unconventional, creative ways an instructor can introduce important ideas that students want to talk about. I love integrating art and philosophy and history. I want to present ideas and concepts that students can take with them far beyond their formal education.
βI have been able to teach a variety of classes β Iβve been really fortunate. This allows me to keep learning, which is one reason why I wanted to be an academic.β