Naomi Martinez ‘21

Swimming and Surf Instructor

A Cabarete native raised in Callejón de la Loma, Naomi grew up in Mariposa programs. At 7 years old Naomi joined Mariposa programs. Terrified of the water, she slowly overcame her fear and became one of the star swimmers and surfers. A certified lifeguard, Naomi participated in years of water safety training and fell in love with surfing. There was not a single sport that Naomi could not master. In particular, Naomi became a standout Circus performer. Enchanting all in sight, Naomi was a natural performing on the trapeze, trampoline, aerial silks and corde lisse. Having graduated from Mariposa programs in 2021, Naomi also graduated from Centro de Enseñanza Coral (the local high school) through a scholarship made possible by the Mariposa Foundation. Upon graduation, Naomi accepted a position at Mariposa mentoring and teaching sports, in particularly watersports. With her kind personality, Naomi always supported and encouraged her peers to overcome any fears of the water, and now gets to teach swimming lessons at the Mariposa Center to the new generation of Mariposa girls. She is also responsible for leading many sports and activities like volleyball, softball, basketball, tennis, and field days and loves it all. Naomi is an amazing athlete and role model. 

For Naomi, one of her greatest joys is witnessing the Mariposa girls be happy and be in the pool. The Mariposa girls are always excited to swim and constantly asking her when they will be going swimming again. Naomi lived it and even though it took her a long time to overcome her fear of water and to improve at swimming, there was never a moment that she did not want to be in the pool. Her older sister, Mabreidy, was also in Mariposa programs, in one of the earliest cohorts. Mabreidy learned how to kitesurf through the Mariposa Foundation and was one of the first, if not the first, Dominican girl to ever learn how to kitesurf. Naomi’s sister was an excellent role model and Naomi is now a self-proclaimed sports fanatic of all kinds of sports, always wanting to learn new sports. In particular, she would love to one day properly learn how to run track and field. In high school Naomi outran every single one of her classmates in a sprinting race, both male and female, and received first place medals two years in a row. Naomi’s athleticism and dedication to give back is inspirational.