Before starting her second try at college, Priscila Perez felt discouraged. She always thought she’d have a “normal” college experience, but, with a change in major, she felt lost. After a high-achieving four years in high school, Perez enrolled in Northeastern where she studied nursing. Initially excited, Priscila eventually learned that the healthcare field wasn’t for her. In 2018, without a declared, or undeclared, academic path, Perez met with her mentor, Judyth Lucien, before entering Boston College. As would become typical for the pair, they chatted for hours over food. They talked about the college experience and some of Perez’s concerns about being known as the dropout or the older kid. Lucien “was just like you know none of that really matters,” Perez said.
Such would be, and continues to be, the case for Perez’s college and postgraduate experience. Lucien was there every step of the way with helpful advice and good food. One of Perez’s favorite memories with Lucien was getting Cuban food and sitting there for hours only to realize that they should probably talk about school at some point.
The two were paired up so that Lucien could get Perez back into nursing. In the end, Perez chose the communications path, but their ultimately diverging career paths didn’t matter. “She took me on just like a friend,” Perez said about her mentor.
Beside help from her mentor, the Alray Scholars Program assisted Perez with a grounded college experience. “At Northeastern, I kind of felt like I was alone in this really big world,” Perez said. “But with Alray, that never felt to be the case.” There was constant communication from Alray staff and volunteers. There was no pressure from staff, it was just a way to show the mentees that the Program was always there for her and other Scholars. “I would say Alray is this absolutely supportive team of cheerleaders,” Perez said about the Program.
Through Alray Scholars, Perez also learned that she wasn’t alone. One obstacle she faced in returning to college was her inner self-consciousness about not following what others see as the traditional path. “How do I, like, accept who I am, my situation, and juggle that with everything else I have going on in my life,” she said as an older student. By meeting other Alray Scholars and seeing how they deal with those challenges, Perez learned how to reconcile these feelings.
Now, Perez is an Operations Coordinator at the Hamilton Garrett Center for Music and Arts in Roxbury. The nonprofit exposes children in Greater Boston to Black music and art by teaching them to play and educating them on the music. Professionally, she hopes to remain with the company, for now, and grow more confident in her role there.
With a new puppy and a job she enjoys, Perez is enjoying the path she chose and she wants others to feel the same way. For current and future Alray Scholars, she advises them to focus on their own journeys in higher education and postsecondary advancement. “Don’t compare yourself to other students,” she said. “Really just focus on your own journey.”
