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Her full name is Isabel de la Cruz Martinez but most people call her Izzy. Since July 2021, Izzy has been The Discovery’s Museum Coordinator, but her tenure at the museum goes back more than three years to when she was hired as a Museum Educator.
Izzy grew up in Fallon, NV, a small, farm town about an hour east of Reno. She moved to Reno right after high school to attend the University of Nevada, Reno. A self-proclaimed lifelong learner, Izzy graduated from the University in May 2021 with not one, but three bachelor’s degrees; Education, Spanish, and Social Studies. Izzy always knew that education was the direction she wanted to take in her career, but working at The Discovery while attending college solidified that passion.
In her role as Museum Coordinator, Izzy works closely with the full-time education staff and the museum’s part-time employees. Her favorite part of her role is that she enjoys the best of both museum logistics and patron interaction.
One of Izzy’s favorite memories of working at The Discovery happened during a busy, pre-pandemic school field trip season.
“We had a Title I school visiting the museum; classes full of kids who had never even been to downtown Reno, so their visit to the museum was a very special event for them. Most of the students were English language learners, so many of them began to speak to me in Spanish when I encountered them around the museum. Connecting with the museum visitors in my native language was a unique and empowering experience for me, so I decided to schedule a science demonstration before the school departed.
I performed the demonstration in both English and Spanish. It resulted in a very interactive, engaging, and appreciated demonstration for everyone. In particular, the field trip students were beyond excited to learn about the science and participate in the demonstration.”
In the future, Izzy hopes to see The Discovery continue its diversity and inclusivity efforts. According to Izzy, The Discovery already does a great job of considering diversity, equity and inclusion, so she is excited about growing the museum’s reach in our community by continued efforts to invite everyone to be a part of what the museum has to offer.