Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on August 19, 2025
KOOSKIA, ID – Rayne Martinez’s and Martha Smith’s names both appeared at the top of a joint resolution presented to Idaho Gov. Brad Little in support of the Idaho LAUNCH scholarship program earlier this year in March.
The two led their respective student governments as presidents: Smith was president of the Associated Students of the University of Idaho. Martinez continues to serve as president of the Associated Students of Lewis-Clark State College.
Martinez, two years the junior of Smith, said it felt full-circle for the two of them. “It was like a ‘we made it’ moment,” she said.
That’s because the two then-student-body presidents hailed from the same rural Idaho county town of Kooskia, and had known each other for years. They both got their start on the student council of their high school, Clearwater Valley. At a school of about 170 students, it would be difficult not to know each other. Martinez recalls her graduating class was around 23 seniors.
The small town upbringing was by no means an obstacle on the Kooskia girls’ path to student leadership in higher education. Martinez and Smith said the conditions of their education at Clearwater Valley are what primed them to eventually preside over the student governments at two of Idaho’s four public, four-year higher-ed institutions.
Martinez said the tight-knit nature of the school gave her the confidence to try student council.
“I felt comfortable putting myself out there and really striving for what I wanted,” said Martinez.
The small number of students at Clearwater Valley gave Martinez confidence, but at Lewis-Clark State, that wasn’t quite the case. Even though the college is Idaho’s smallest public four-year institution, its enrollment is greater than the population of Kooskia multiplied by six. Regardless, she continued to excel.
In an email, Lewis-Clark State student involvement coordinator Kristin Myers said Martinez has done an incredible job as ASLCSC President.
“She brings so much energy to the position, and to all of campus, really,” said Myers.
Martinez said Lewis-Clark State was an adjustment. “I definitely did feel a bit less confident. When I first ran as a write-in [candidate] for senator, I was thinking ‘I probably won’t get this position because I’m not qualified…’
“It was an adjustment to go from [people knowing] who I was in Kooskia, to now having to make a name for myself.”
Martinez points to Smith – who graduated two years before her – as a big inspiration.
“I reached out to [Smith] in high school for student council advice, and I’ve reached out to her in college,” said Martinez.
Smith points to Martinez’ father, who was her student council advisor at Clearwater Valley, as a major reason for her own success.
“He was my advisor through [student council at Clearwater Valley.] [He was] just really phenomenal and empowered me in a lot of ways that I think have really shown through my professional life now,” said Smith.
Smith said her confidence came from being an oldest daughter. “I always found myself being the leader in my family circle with my sisters, and I think that has just continued to translate into my professional life and leadership roles I’ve found myself in.”
She also feels a duty to the people who helped her along the way.
“I really feel a duty to make them proud, to give back and pay it forward,” Smith said.
Smith is interning with the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She’ll take a gap year and apply for law school — she’s not sure where yet, but she intends to practice law in Idaho afterward.
Martinez will be a Junior at Lewis-Clark State in the fall, studying to earn a degree in elementary education. She plans to start teaching after she graduates, and eventually become a principal. She also wants to spend a few years teaching in Puerto Rico, her family’s place of origin.
