MinerAlert
MinerAlert
February 2026
By Alexandra Sanchez ’17
For Kim ’16 and Martin Mendivil ’16, love started quietly, outside a classroom at The JAV名女优馆 of Texas at El Paso.
The two first met in 2014 during a ‘Meet the Chapter’ meeting for Delta Sigma Pi, a professional business fraternity, held at the Woody L. Hunt College of Business building. The campus was nearly empty that evening, and they found themselves waiting outside a classroom.
“We were just standing there, looking at each other, because we didn’t know each other yet,” Kim said.
At the time, neither could have imagined that this brief encounter would turn into a lifelong partnership.
When asked what their first impressions were, they couldn’t have been more different. Martin remembers thinking Kim seemed preppy and outgoing.
“I thought she was like a cheerleader-type girl,” he said.
While Kim recalls being surprised by Martin’s confidence.
She shared, “He was asking all the questions, and I was so shy—I thought, okay, I like this.”
Though they weren’t friends at first, their shared involvement in Delta Sigma Pi meant spending plenty of time together, slowly building a relationship through all the meetings, jokes, and shared experiences.
The turning point came when Kim invited Martin to her birthday celebration at Hope and Anchor. Despite being on crutches following surgery, Martin showed up, and from there, things began to blossom, “That’s when we really started texting,” he said.
Not long after, the two went on one of their first official dates: a spontaneous road trip to Las Cruces to attend a UTEP vs. NMSU football game. The Miners may have lost, but the long drive, nonstop laughter, and shared memories sealed the connection.
“We didn’t know each other that well yet, but we laughed the whole way,” Martin said.
As their relationship grew, UTEP continued to play a central role. They even ended up taking classes together, including a management course where Martin encouraged Kim to sit in the front and speak up and would ask her, “Why don’t you ask questions?”
While Kim preferred observing from the back, outside the classroom they learned just as much from each other. Martin taught Kim how to cook and how to prioritize tasks, while Kim taught Martin patience and how to handle setbacks. These are all skills they now use to support one another as their relationship has matured.
After graduation, with Kim earning a degree in financial analysis and Martin in management with a concentration in HR, the couple faced their biggest challenge yet: long distance. Kim moved to San Antonio for work while Martin remained in El Paso. For nearly a year, they commuted, flew back and forth, and surprised each other with thoughtful gestures when times felt overwhelming.
Martin recalls one time during one of the most challenging times of their relationship, “I just woke up one morning and decided to go see her.” That commitment laid the foundation for the relationship they have built.
For the couple, UTEP not only helped introduce each other to one another, but also in their professional career. Both being involved with leadership positions in Delta Sigma, where Martin is still part of the alumni chapter as vice president of finance and continues to share his knowledge with this chapter.
As for Kim, she remains part of the alumni chapter and was part of a social and philanthropic sorority, Alpha Xi Delta. Building connections was a big thing for them, which even helped Martin get his first job out of college at Charles Schwab and Kim at Oracle.
Eventually, Kim returned to El Paso, they bought a home together, and navigated marriage during the pandemic with a small backyard ceremony surrounded by family. Today, they are raising two sons, Peter and Patrick, building careers, and continuing their connection to UTEP. Martin is back at UTEP pursuing an electrical engineering degree while working in commercial LED lighting, and Kim is a licensed realtor who co-owns her own brokerage with her mother.
Through it all, the Mendivil’s credit teamwork and shared priorities for making it work, “We tag-team everything.” Their love story rooted in campus hallways, late-night drives, and Miner pride continues to live on through their growing family, including two little boys who already know how to say, “Go Miners,” pickaxe and all.