Albert “Al” Martini

For Al Martini, "Boundless Possibilities. Individual Journeys" is more than Champlain College's tagline. It's a personal philosophy.

While the snowboarding community was a definite draw, his choice to attend Champlain was driven mostly by the reputation of its business programs.

"In high school, I thought I'd go off to college, earn a business degree, get a six-figure job and wear Armani suits," he notes. I graduated from a pretty competitive high school, and that's just about what everyone else did. I didn't really consider that my experience would be so much more than that."

Becoming a Champlain student, however, changed his preconceptions — both of college and of himself.

The first thing Al changed? His major — twice. Of his move from Marketing to Secondary Education and then to Professional Writing, Al recalls, "I just realized the plans I had weren't me."

Perhaps the three weeks he spent in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina influenced his decision.

Of his current major, Professional Writing, Al observes, "The program has stripped away my original motivations. It's transformed me from being a literal thinker into a metaphorical one."

A product of Champlain's focus on experiential learning, Al took his skills for a test-drive and decided to study abroad in Sienna, Italy — a journey that also connected him with his "Martini" family heritage. His favorite memory? "Riding on the back of a Vespa scooter while debating philosophy with the driver — in Italian."

So what journey is next for Al? "I love travel books and have several ideas in mind to write one of my own," he says. "After graduation, I hope to circumnavigate North and South America on a motorcycle and perhaps write a book about the experience."

Until then, Al's current Champlain journey finds him reading as many books as he can and enjoying all of Burlington's possibilities. He's especially fond of camping, biking and the occasional midnight poetry jam with friends.