Paula Ambit Martinez recently made the news through her participation in the TCU Values and Ventures competition alongside her teammates Amanda Simeone and Kelsey Gruber for their idea of GlucoGo, a dissolving strip of glucose that allows sugar to get into the bloodstream more quickly. They originally pitched their idea at the Miami Startup Weekend, where they placed second,and decided to apply for the exclusive competition in Texas. At TCU, the top 30 pitches get selected to compete against each other for up to $5,000 in cash prizes.

While you might have heard about Paula and her team's success in this recent entrepreneurship competition, you might not know that Paula is an international student who moved to the United States from Spain in the 8th grade. (Her family returning to Spain when she started college.) Paula is also the Vice President of the Women’s Hockey team and involved with Chi Omega, a sorority on campus.

In the interview below, Paula shares her experiences at Miami University. Read on to learn more about Paula!

How have you been adjusting to the cultural differences between Spain and Ohio? Are there any particular aspects that have been surprising or difficult to adapt to?

Paula: I moved to the U.S. in eighth grade with my mom and my brother so transitioning with my brother was definitely easier than just moving to college all alone. But when I started college my family all moved back to Spain. The six hour time difference and not being able to call whenever I wanted was definitely one of the hardest things to adjust to, especially first semester freshman year when you get more homesick. I feel like now with technology it is so easy to just hop on a FaceTime. I FaceTime my mom literally every day. I go back every break, so during winter and summer break I'll be in Spain and I get to see all my friends and family and it's really nice.

How has playing hockey influenced your personal growth and development, both on and off the ice?

Paula: Freshman year I did not play at all which is really hard mentally, and I was giving it my all but was not playing. So that helped me push myself to new limits and try harder and understand to give it time. This year I got elected vice president. So off the ice, there's definitely a lot of leadership opportunities and meeting people. We're hiring a new coach and that's something I have to do. So going through resumes, actually interviewing people to give them a position.

What differences have you noticed between the hockey culture in Spain and Ohio? 

Paula: Definitely in Spain since hockey is so small, when we traveled and played away games we would stay with the other players at their houses. The team we would play the next day, and their parents would be cooking us dinner. I was on this national team so you are already friends with your opponents, which makes the competition on the ice really fun, but then you get off the ice and you go out together and get a meal together which is definitely something new here. It's competitive here. 

How did your engineering management background influence your approach to problem-solving and innovation throughout the competition process?

Paula: It definitely helped when everyone was coming up with crazy ideas. At first I was helping to come up with them. But when it came time to be realistic, I stepped in to say some ideas were not feasible. Both of my teammates are extremely creative, so sometimes I was the reality check-in. Also, with project management, right now I'm taking project management classes and we learn about the steps for creating a plan. So definitely I used what I learned in those classes. 

What’s your favorite Miami memory so far?

Paula: For hockey, it was going to Nationals last year. We went to Boston and spent a weekend there. Also, I'm in a sorority (Chi Omega) that hosts a Mom's weekend, and just hanging out with my mom and grandma was really really cool. And then I'm in College Mentors for Kids. We do a fundraiser called "Pie the Mentors" and get pie'd in the face. Getting pie'd by my mentee and seeing her so happy running around is so fun. So probably those three are my top memories.

What impact has Miami had on your life?

Paula: Miami has given me so many leadership opportunities and connections. I didn't realize how good the Miami alumni network is. The Miami alumni are always willing to help and get involved. Chi Omega has Make a Wish which I'm really passionate about because my aunt died of cancer. So being able to get involved in that sense. It's something I don't think I would have done without Miami.