WHEN I STARTED at Wake Forest as a freshman in 2002, I had a very different plan for my career than how it panned out. As a passionate animal lover, I arrived at Wake determined to pursue veterinary science. However, I quickly realized the academic journey to vet school was not in my future.

Backup plans don’t come naturally to most 17-year-olds, and I was no different. I felt adrift, trying to recalibrate and figure out a new path. I leaned heavily into my hobbies outside of school: music, photography, theatre.

Before long, I found myself spending more time in Scales Fine Arts Center, and soon I was in my first photography class with John Pickel (associate art professor and associate chair), unlearning the techniques I had taught myself for developing film, instead learning the correct way, and navigating the ins and outs of the darkroom. John’s class was always the highlight of my week, and throughout the course, I spent more and more time in the darkroom, trying to perfect my craft while bonding with my classmates, who, like me, found processing film a much needed escape from the academic grind.

Through John’s course I met my first mentor, Ken Bennett. Our class took an excursion to Ken’s studio, which at the time was in a building on the outskirts of campus with a small sign that read, “Campus Photographer.” I was in awe of all the cameras and equipment, and, of course, of Ken’s work. He had captured iconic images of Wake through the years, and sitting there with my dad’s old Canon AE-1P in my hands, I wondered if I could ever capture anything similar.

Years later, as a senior, I would sit nervously in that studio as Ken inspected a gallery of my photos. I wanted to land an internship with Ken, the first step in what I hoped would be the start of a career in photography. It was a long shot, though, as his busy shooting schedule didn’t allow for student interns at the time.

Ken silently went through the images, some captured during my study abroad in Australia, some as assignments in art courses and many during walks around our beautiful campus. When he got to the end, he sighed, took off his glasses, turned to me and said quietly, “I’m sorry, Joe.” My heart sank at the thought of another plan gone awry, especially in my final year of college. But then he continued, “I’m sorry, because it’s clear you’re very talented and have a great eye. This job isn’t for everyone. It’s not great for your health, not great for your relationships, and it’s a grind. But you’ve got something here, and I’m just sorry to be the one to start you down the path. Be here Monday morning, and we’ll get to work.”

It was classic Ken. I would come to know that dry humor so well over the course of that year as Ken sent me out on assignments to capture student life, guest speakers and events, teaching me to be disciplined in my shot selection and editing, and laying the foundation I’d need to be a professional in the field.

Ken sent me down the path, and I never looked back.

Ten years later, in 2017, I returned to Wake Forest in a different capacity, to contribute to the first photography-themed issue of Wake Forest Magazine. It was wonderful to be back and to see John, Ken and a few other familiar people who had made their way back to Winston-Salem. What a full-circle moment to be there, making images in the place where I discovered this passion.

All these years after graduating, I still think about that nervous college senior about to walk into Ken’s studio at such a crossroads and what I’d say to him. Maybe I’d show young Joe Martinez the future — his photos in Time magazine, in The Wall Street Journal, on the front page of The Washington Post or on the cover of Teen Vogue. Most of all, I’d tell him to keep going, that it’ll all be worth it one day.

Joe Martinez (’06) is the senior club photographer for St. Louis CITY SC, a professional men’s soccer club competing in Major League Soccer. Martinez’s freelance career has spanned more than 13 years, including assignments for Time, National Geographic, The Washington Post, Adidas and Teen Vogue, among others. Martinez lives in St. Louis with his wife, Kara Moskowitz, an associate professor of history at the University of Missouri‑St. Louis, and young daughters, Zadie and Lola.