Perez Receives Salix Scholarship Award

Revere resident Jocelyn Perez was the recipient of a $10,000 academic scholarship from the Salix Gastrointestinal Health Scholars Program.

Perez, 25, will begin her graduate studies in September at Columbia University where she will pursue a Master’s degree of Public Health in Health Policy and Management. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Syracuse in Public Health.

“I was inspired to enter the study of public health for a variety of reasons,” said Perez. “One of them was the health disparities that existed in Boston and the surrounding communities. And after taking a course at Syracuse that led to a visit to England and Switzerland to see how their health systems functioned, I felt inspired to look into different ways of administering health to our communities.”

She has worked as a research assistant in patient recorded outcomes and in a position in population health at two Boston healthcare systems.

Perez said she was honored to receive the prestigious award from Salix. She was one of only 10 honorees nationwide.

“I was super excited about this award – I literally jumped up and down when I receive the notification,” said Perez. “I think this scholarship opportunity is going to be really helpful to offset the enormous cost of going to graduate school. I was incredibly honored to have been chosen by the Salix Committee because they evaluated by qualifications and I felt humbled to be one of the recipients.”

Jocelyn graduated from Revere High School in 2012 after attending Paul Revere Elementary School and the Beachmont School. At RHS, she competed for the field hockey team and participated in the Drama Guild.

“I wrote a play for the drama club and helped start an organization that was part of Revere Hope that raised awareness about domestic violence,” said Perez.

Jocelyn is the daughter of Carmen Perez and Leon Perez. She has a sister, Melissa, 19, who is attending St. John’s University.

“My parents’ journey as immigrants from Colombia has really impacted me and given me the drive to keep moving forward and keep pushing,” said Jocelyn. “Since I was very little, they instilled in me that education was very important and to continue my path and work hard in my studies and that has really helped me excel. Their support throughout this entire process has been incredible.”