Saints Around the World: Paris, France

You don't have to be an actor to star in your own film. You just need inspiration.

The 2016 animated musical comedy Leap! is set in 1880s France, the same decade the Eiffel Tower was built, and follows an orphan girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina. Not quite 10, Aurora Martinez '28 watched the movie with her mom and she was utterly smitten. It wasn't the heartwarming story of the protagonist that captured her heart, it was the 984-feet tall masterpiece designed by Gustave Eiffel.

"I was obsessed with the Eiffel Tower. My mom got me a blanket with the Eiffel Tower on it. She decorated my whole room that way."

Martinez's dad is from California and her mom grew up in Mexico. Martinez was raised downstate and somehow Paris felt further than just an ocean away. But if the orphan could make it to the Paris Opera, why not find a way to write her own Hollywood ending?

"It became my most important dream. When I interviewed for a HEOP spot at Siena, I told them about Paris, and they said, 'We're going to make that happen for you.' I applied to a lot of schools, but Siena and HEOP gave me the most support and they believed in my dream."

Two years later, Martinez boarded a flight for Paris. She's only a sophomore and there are no other Saints studying in Paris this semester, but the opportunity presented itself, and Martinez seized it.

"I got in very late my first night, so on my second night, I went walking to find the Eiffel Tower. As I got closer, and was able to see the top of it, I started to tear up. Because it was dark, the tower was lit up in gold, and when I got to it, I honestly cried my eyes out because I was so happy. I called my mom and we cried together. Whatever I experience, I want her to experience it, too. I never thought I'd be able to do something like this so young. I'm grateful to Siena and proud of the work I put in to get here."

The Eiffel Tower was the magnetic pull, but now that Martinez is there for four months, the psychology major with a minor in social work has got more lined up than sight-seeing (but she's doing plenty of that, and even checked off the Mona Lisa in her first week). In addition to classes, Martinez is teaching English every Tuesday at a French school that was once a castle "for some princess."

"One of the classes I'm taking is French. But then I'm also volunteering and helping young kids learn English. They're all super excited because I'm from New York. I don't have classes on Tuesdays, and I just wanted to do something meaningful on my day off."

Martinez is also biking around Paris during downtime, and she's already visited Poland. Italy is next.

"This is like my own movie. Nobody is going to have the same experience as me. This is Aurora in Paris. It's my movie, and it can be anything I want it to be. I wish I could stay here forever."

Aurora in Paris is far different from Leap! For starters, Martinez has no interest in dancing at the Paris Opera. But the two films do have one thing in common. The Eiffel Tower makes for one striking supporting character.