The weekend after graduating from Pahrump Valley High School, Alexus “Lexi” Martinez went to work full time answering calls from Valley Electric Association members. Today, she troubleshoots machines and robots at a Utah facility that makes parts for airbags. In between, she marked underground gas lines, responded to emergencies and discovered how much she enjoys figuring out why something has stopped working.
Martinez graduated with an Advanced Diploma and a 4.6 GPA, and she had already started taking college classes. Some of her favorite memories from PVHS, though, are the ones she made outside the classroom. She played soccer for the Trojans as a freshman and for Players Soccer Club in Las Vegas. She remembers the school dances and the friendships that lasted well beyond graduation. She and Christina Fowler have been friends since seventh grade and still text every day.
Soccer also gave Martinez an early way to give back to Pahrump. With the Junior Trojans Soccer Club, she helped coach, refereed games and even pitched in at the food truck. These days, she follows PVHS soccer from Utah and watches whenever she can. Her younger brother, Kamdon Jones, plays for the Trojans, and her parents and siblings still live in Pahrump.
“Even though I’ve moved away, Pahrump will always be home,” Martinez said.
Martinez was about 16 when she started as an intern at Valley Electric Association, where she helped collect and update member contact information for a fiber-optic project. VEA offered her a part-time position in February 2024 while she was still in school. She moved into a full-time role as a call center representative right after graduation.
Some callers were dealing with financial hardship or other difficult circumstances, and Martinez said those conversations taught her to be patient and listen carefully. At her next job, with ELM Utility Services, she put those communication skills to work in a different setting. As an underground utility technician, she used maps and infrastructure records to locate and mark gas lines, worked independently in the field and coordinated with contractors.
She later helped investigate damage to gas lines and responded to active leaks, sometimes working alongside fire and police departments during evacuations. Martinez recalled one day when she finished her regular 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift, was called out twice that evening and got home around 1 a.m. before going back to work the next day. Weeks of 70 to 80 hours were familiar. She said the work taught her to trust her training and stay calm when people were counting on her.
Martinez also spoke about what she was going through away from work. After losing her grandmother, and moving out on her own, she said she began relying on alcohol to cope. She moved to Utah hoping for a fresh start, but her drinking continued. She said a DUI led to the loss of her job at ELM and that the months that followed involved court and rehab.
“I’m grateful that nobody was hurt and that the situation didn’t end in something even worse,” she said.
Her grandmother, Dawn Nelson, has been one of her closest friends and biggest supporters, someone Martinez knows she can count on even when she makes mistakes. Martinez said her parents’ support has also meant a great deal to her as she’s found her way since high school.
She also credits her partner, Callie, with standing by her through difficult changes. The unexpected death of Callie’s father made Martinez think about how she wanted to show up for the people she loved.
“Getting sober has been one of the best things I’ve done for myself,” Martinez said. “I’m still learning, still figuring out my triggers, learning how to say no, and working on rebuilding relationships and trust.”
Martinez said she shared that part of her story because she knows how easy it can be to miss how serious a problem has become. “I’ve learned that asking for help and being honest with yourself isn’t weakness,” she said.
Martinez applied at Autoliv without a degree or previous experience in industrial automation. Once hired, she learned by asking questions, listening to her coworkers and getting hands-on experience. As an industrial automation technician, she uses diagnostics to trace problems in the controllers that run the equipment, replaces parts, maintains machines and helps with reprogramming when needed. The facility makes initiators that help deploy airbags, and she said working with the materials involved requires close attention to safety.
“What I love most is knowing that the work we do contributes to products that help save lives,” she said. “It’s a pretty incredible feeling to know that something you worked on could make a difference for someone in an accident.”
Martinez credits several people from her school years with encouraging her, including A. and B. Veloz, Mrs. Ferrell, Alicia Lewis and Mr. Odegard. She singled out Mrs. Sitter, who taught her all four years of high school. She also thinks about the example she sets as the oldest sibling. She wants her younger siblings to see what they can accomplish when they set their minds to something.
Outside work and school, Martinez plays coed softball in Utah, though she still jokes that she’s more at home on a soccer field. She enjoys cooking, spending time outdoors and going to concerts and music festivals. She has an Alaska cruise in the works and is looking forward to Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas. After working so many long weeks in utilities, she said making time for Callie, family and friends has become a priority.
Martinez is in the final semester of her business management program and plans to study automation engineering while continuing to work full time. She wants to become an engineer and learn more about how the systems she works on every day are designed and built.
For young people considering a trade or a job in an unfamiliar field, especially young women who might hesitate to apply, Martinez’s advice comes from experience.
“Don’t be afraid to be the person in the room who asks questions or has to figure something out,” she said.
