The Right Fit: Olivia Martin '19

In May 2019, Olivia Martin was celebrating not just her decision to attend Georgetown University but all of her classmates’ college acceptances and choices as well. 

“When you’re a senior it doesn’t always feel like it’s going to work out. I wanted everyone to get what they wanted after working so hard at HIES,” she said. 

For Olivia, Georgetown, where she is double majoring in English and Psychology with a minor in theater, proved to be the right choice with many opportunities. As co-editor of the C&G at HIES, she expected that she would continue to study journalism but after attending a theater interest meeting, she found a place that clicked. She dabbled a bit in theater at HIES with some set building and serving as assistant director so it was not a foreign space. 

Olivia served as stage manager for a fall 2021 production of “Cabaret” at Georgetown, a victory for many after Covid dramatically altered productions and performances on campus. As a sophomore, she served on the board of the Mask & Bauble Society, a 170-year-old student theater organization on campus, and will direct the fall 2022 production for the Nomadic Theatre Club. She writes and edits for the Georgetown Voice, a student publication. 

This year, she is finally able to expand her experiences beyond the D.C. borders with a trip to Cambodia this summer with a student group. Earlier this spring, she traveled to London and Paris and met up with fellow HIES graduate Miller Reid ’19. She hopes to travel more in the coming years as well. 

After graduation, she is considering moving to New York or possibly the west coast. Graduate school is on the table as well. Going through Covid-related closings and online school altered many of her plans as well as her perspective. 

“It is disappointing to go through Covid in college because it’s such a finite time. Despite the limitations, I’ve still been able to do some incredible things,” she said. “It’s made me realize I can take more time and I don’t have to follow a ‘normal’ trajectory. Everything will work out as it should.” 

- Christina Mimms