#BehindBauer: Vince Martino

From 9-5 and beyond, Vince Martino (BBA '16) is a passionate Bauer College alumnus and former University of Houston student athlete who is now championing student success as the college's Director of Advancement, a role where he builds strong relationships with alumni, donors and partners to provide financial and industry support for the college's mission.

In our new #BehindBauer series, we're chatting with the people behind Bauer to learn more, not only about what they do at the college but why they do it, too (and learning some fun facts along the way).

Q: If you could describe your role in five words, what would it be?

A: “I would describe my position in five words as people, passion, impact, vision and trust.”

Q: When you applied for your job, what interested you most in the role?

A: “Coming back to serve the University of Houston and Bauer. I went here, my wife went here, so many of my friends went here, so being able to make an impact at Bauer is why I chose to apply.”

Q: So, almost a decade ago, you weren't the guy in the Melcher Hall third floor office. You were a student athlete, learning how to balance your classes with collegiate sports and a social life. What's the biggest lesson you learned back then that you use today?

A: “I did not envision myself being in this office one day. When I was a student athlete, the thing I learned the most was balancing my time and prioritize it. I run on a very tight schedule. I’ve got a family with a very young daughter at home, and what I do on a day-to-day basis is very outward facing. I am out in the community and a lot of it is time management. Being a student athlete and student here, I learned that from my professors and my coaches.”

Q: As an alumnus, what is your favorite UH or Bauer tradition?

A: “That’s a tough one but being such a big college basketball fan and a big Coach Sampson fan is when our basketball team is locking up a home victory, the band starts taking out their keys and starts jingling at the other team to get the bus ready. I always find so much joy out of it. Our band loves it, our fans love it, It’s great.”

Q: You played golf at a professional level. Give us one tip for a novice to improve their golf game.

A: “I did play professional golf for a short period of time. I’ve played golf my whole life since I can remember. My father was a golfer and everything like that. One tip I would give a novice is to just go slow. People end up swinging the golf club so fast and try to make this massive swing. Slow and steady will help move the ball forward. That’s my one tip I would give a novice.”

Q: If we run into you on the weekend, outside of work, where might we find you? What does life look like for you when you're not on campus?

A: “I’ll probably be outside. I’m one of the few people in Houston that does not mind the heat. I’ll probably play some golf with my friends in the morning, we tee off very early on Saturday mornings. Then I'll be spending time with my family in the afternoon. Sundays are very similar, I’ll spend time with my family, my wife, my daughter. We take walks around the neighborhood because we like to explore the city a little bit. We love to spend time outside.”

Q: You love to travel. What's your favorite place that you've visited so far, and what destination is on your travel bucket list?

A: “My wife and I love to travel. It is part of what comes with parents that don't live in the same place. My parents are out in Florida and my wife’s are out in Canada, so we do travel a lot. The favorite place I have traveled was Italy when I went with my wife and family in 2022. We went to Rome, Venice and Florence. Somewhere new we would want to go is to Italy and do the coast like Sicily. That is a trip that we really want to do, but maybe in a couple years.”

Q: Students tend to hear a lot of the same tips for success in college. What's one piece of unconventional advice you can offer Bauer students?

A: “You hear it a lot with students and their networks is important, and externally networking, but one piece of advice I would give is utilize that network we have internally. So many of your professors, faculty, career center, even in my office, we have so many connections in the Houston community. We can help you with career advice that may be outside the box, something that you have not thought about. We talk about creating that external network but use those resources at Bauer.”