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Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program.
Rossy Belle Perales
Houston, Texas
Rossy Belle Perales pursues opportunities with great confidence and inspiration from the quote, “Shoot for the moon. Even If you miss you will land among the stars.”
Identifying herself with the people of Puerto Rico, her native land, and with the Hispanic community of Houston, Ms. Perales has embraced the culture and traditions of both ethnic groups, which have made her the person she is today.
Perales earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public health (epidemiology and biostatistics) from the University of South Florida, and she spent time coordinating research to educate migrant farm workers in Florida.
She has since become the program manager for the RECRUIT project, a multi-site intervention to increase minority participation in clinical trials at The University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston. Her work involves managing and developing program material for project.
Encouraged by her mentors, Perales applied for Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, which aims to increase research in Latino cancer disparities by encouraging master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.
The program provided her with useful information to help her decide to pursue a doctoral degree and perhaps a career in cancer research.
“I plan to apply to a PHD program,” Perales said, because “Éxito! gave me the motivation I needed to apply.”
By The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
