About Me

About Me

My name is Sofia Perez, and I am pursuing a degree in cognitive science and global health and community. I am pursuing the BA pathway. The reason being is that when I was growing up, I always wanted to be a doctor or work in hospital because my mom was a nurse and I had heard many of her stories, which were very interesting and I love how passionate my mom is about helping people . I also had an interest in the sciences, so I thought this was the natural pathway to pursue. Once I came into college though, I realized that I was not passionate about being a doctor, nor working in a hospital setting. This led me to believe that I could not pursue a career or have a major in healthcare. But last spring, I had the opportunity to go on a medical volunteer trip with an organization called MEDLIFE. We went to Peru and we helped set up mobile clinics for a day in communities where they did not have regular access to health. There we help in various stations, like taking vitals. There was also an education station where we taught people about the diseases that were prominent around their area. We also taught children how to brush their teeth and why it was important. It was captivating for me since MEDLIFE's mission includes equal health access to education, housing, and sustainability. Which changed my perspective on what one could do in the healthcare field.  This was also a life changing experience, as I wanted to learn more about the culture. I did not realize how much culture can impact health which was eye opening to me. It was also really nice to see different people working together to give a community better resources, where those resources came from and the history behind it. This is where I realized that I did not have to be a doctor to make a difference in the health field. 

My learning goals for pursuing a GCH degree are to learn more about health inequity and how that has changed throughout time, especially in Latin America, along with their policies and advocacy methods that have led or are going to lead to the right of health for everyone. With my GCH degree, I hope to be more knowledgeable. I will be pursuing a career in campus recreation, but hope to use my GCH degree to continue volunteering in health equity initiatives, as well as making an impact in my community.