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My name is Oscar Martinez, and I am a proud first-generation Dominican-American from New Jersey. At 18 years old, I became a U.S. citizen, and with that came a determination to serve my country promoting human rights and international peace.
This past March, I lost my dream job as a U.S. diplomat where I was doing exactly that. I used to work for the U.S. Department of State on a variety of important foreign policy issues such as the Russia-Ukraine war, global food security, and radiological weapons, working in key political arenas such as the United Nations. It was exactly the work I was inspired to pursue that day I became a U.S. citizen.
Due to the president’s swath of executive orders reducing the federal government, I lost my job as a U.S. Diplomat. It was one of my life’s biggest goals to work daily on maintaining international peace and resolving global conflicts. Just as that goal was realized, it was unfortunately taken away due to politics.
However, on the same day I lost my job, I was admitted to the University of Cambridge for an MPhil in Political Thought & Intellectual History. The emotional whirlwind of what my next steps would be, as you can imagine, was insane!
While the job loss was devastating, I took the summer to reflect on what I hope to accomplish in my career defending and promoting human rights. While working in government, I thought a lot about the problems policymakers came across on human rights issues, and ultimately, I’ve become convinced that the world’s ability to effectively promote international peace is fundamentally limited by problems in law and legal theory.
I realized that to achieve the difference I want to make, I need to use the power of academia to examine these problems at their core. I fear that many human rights defenders are using old, problematic legal theory as the basis for their work, and because of this, many violations of international law and human rights remain unaddressed.
I want to change this. At Cambridge, I have a shot. Now, I need your help affording this.
The University of Cambridge gave me a new path forward to study political thought and prepare for a career in international law defending human rights. They offered me admission to one of the top programs in the world on political theory. This degree will slam wide open the doors to future into JD/PhD study in International Legal Theory, enabling me to pursue the vital research that I believe the world of diplomacy needs.
I am asking for your help in making this academic dream a financial possibility. My family does not have the financial means to support my studies, and given my loss of employment due to petty politics, my funding options are limited.
I have applied to many scholarships, but unfortunately was not selected for any. Now I hope you can contribute to what I call “The People’s Scholarship”-- a scholarship from you!
I have accepted that pursuing dreams naturally comes with risk. I accept the risk of taking out additional student loans to fund the degree itself, which will add to undergraduate loans I still have. I ask for your support in paying for living expenses, as that is where the cost of attendance could make this opportunity far more expensive, adding massively to my student debt.
Cost Breakdown (currency exchange fluctuates. GBP is stronger than USD)
Monthly Rent: $11,132 USD total
(October 2025 - August 2026) ~$1,012 USD a month.
Food: $4386.33 USD
£295 monthly, equating to ~$398 USD a month.
Total goal:
$16,000 USD
How Far Your Support Goes:
$20-$200: Food & living expenses for a week/month.
$200-$600: Miscellaneous university expenses including books, transportation, research opportunities, etc.,
$700+: towards monthly rent!
While Cambridge lists the estimated living costs here, I shaved off some irrelevant costs: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/finance/maintenance
Thank you so much for your consideration in supporting my mission. I want to meaningfully contribute to international peace through legal scholarship, diplomatic practice, and public service. Your support can help me make that mission financially possible. I hope to return to public service someday with greater legal and academic training, to meaningfully advance new thoughts, policies, and practices towards better defending human rights.
Thank you for helping me pursue my dreams at the University of Cambridge!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, thoughts, or messages:
Organizer
