A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Bridget Martinson

Bridget Martinson is a fan of greater education. Throughout her life, Martinson has felt that her strong high school and college education positively affected her life, her career, and her personal growth. It’s why she went into education herself.

Martinson grew up in Hammond. She attended Oliver P. Morton High School; and then Purdue University Calumet, where she secured a bachelor of arts in communications with a specialization in public relations. Today, she is the public relations director at the Duneland School Corporation, where she oversees all public and internal communication within the school district. 

“I work with everything from the website to the newspaper, communicating our news to employees and the public - all of it and everything in between,” Martinson said. 

Martinson has a long-standing professional relationship with communication of all kinds. After she graduated from college, she worked for the Lake County Public Library as a PR coordinator, where she carried out similar duties as her current role with the Duneland School Corporation. She was there for a few years before moving to the position at the schools

Martinson joined the Duneland School Corporation during a time of extensive growth and built the communication program there from the ground. The enrollment within the schools grew over the years, as did staff to around 800 - 900 employees. Today, she oversees communication within nine schools of the Duneland community.

“It grew quite a bit,” Martinson recalled. 

Martinson’s favorite part of her job is working with media. She now deals with social media more than newspapers, a huge change since she started her job. She also loves working with people. She speaks with parents a great deal about everything from school cancelations to important messages, district challenges, and more. 

Although the path might have seemed pretty clear for Martinson, she admitted that she always wanted to be a physical therapist until she went to college and learned that it wasn’t for her.

“You don’t realize those things until you go to school,” she said. “I was positive that I wanted to go to school for physical therapy, but I wasn’t exactly cut out for the chemistry classes,” she laughed. “Math wasn’t my thing either, and I might have gone down that path, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. In school, and in college, you grow up and figure things out. It’s a life lesson.”

Her college experience lead to her deep appreciation for education, making her extremely happy in her role at the Duneland School Corporation. 

When she looks at the education system through the eyes of someone who works in it, she sees how having confidence helps someone pursue lifelong learning.

“A good education, and a finished education, it only moves you forward in life,” she said. 

As Martinson reflected on her life, she felt thankful for the love of her parents and gratitude for her English teacher from high school, Alberta Lundgren. 

“She would always encourage me, she helped me grow,” Martinson said. “She taught me how to be confident, to empower me. When I was growing up, women were expected to stay at home, cook, clean, and all of that - but she encouraged me to think about my education and do something with my life and have a career, like the one I have now.”