All women should have the equal opportunity to be who and what she wants, whether it is an educator, advocate, fighter, or all three.
“Higher education was always something that my parents instilled in us when we were little,” says Perez-Soto ’14 ’22.
First in her family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and secondary education, Perez-Soto has now earned a master’s degree through Alverno’s graduate education program.
“I feel proud, and I know my family feels proud of everything that we’ve accomplished together. I hope to continue to be part of the advancement of professional minorities in the country, and of course, minority women,” she says.
Perez-Soto aspires to confront systemic injustice by advocating for high-quality education for under-represented students and giving back to the different generations in the community that helped raise her.
“I see the importance of representing and advocating for my community as a leader in education,” she says. “Alverno has taught me that being professional doesn’t mean being better than anybody…it means you now likely have access to resources that you share and pass along.”
Outside of teaching and advocating for her community, Perez-Soto is an avid participant in kickboxing, mixed martial arts (MMA), and Jiu-Jitsu. Training four to six nights a week, she has earned amateur titles in kickboxing and MMA and has even won several medals in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments.
“I have forced myself to do different matches in each of these disciplines,” says Perez-Soto.” “I try to be the best I can be. Even in the MMA community, women are still very under-represented and that’s just always something I work towards – proving to others to not underestimate women and to not underestimate minorities.”
Selected to give the invocation at the May 2022 graduate commencement ceremony, Perez-Soto feels “very grateful to have been given the opportunity to lead my peers in a reflection upon our journeys and to continue to be grateful for that and all the future holds for us.”
