MAY 15, 2023 — Eliesha Perez is on her way to becoming an inspirational leader and her path starts with serving others. She is graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in global affairs and a minor in economics from the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts and the Honors College.
Perez said her parents, who are from the Philippines, really pushed for her and her siblings to pursue a higher education. They are both college graduates as well.
“My plan since high school was to join the Peace Corps and get a global affairs degree to set me up for success,” she said. “I want my career to focus on youth development and education, and to continue working more with young students.”
It was just before she began the sixth grade that Perez started volunteering, and it was then that her desire to work with the youth blossomed. Born in San Antonio, she grew up in Dallas and volunteered in vacation bible schools as a group leader while her sister participated in activities.
At first, it was a way to fill her summer days while their parents worked. Then, volunteering stirred up an enthusiasm in her for working directly with young students, especially other children of immigrants.
“It’s just a passion I found for myself,” Perez said. “I love working with kids. I’ve gotten a lot of happiness out of volunteering and just feel really good about working with students and have them see someone who looks like them working in the nonprofit field.”
She volunteered for vacation bible schools until the summer after her senior year in high school, as well as for local food banks, and her service continued at UTSA. She spent two summers as a volunteer with AmeriCorps, which teamed up with the Dallas nonprofit Heart House, an educational organization that serves immigrant and refugee children.
Throughout her time at UTSA, Perez served on the executive board of VOICES, a university volunteer organization, was an active member of the Filipino Student Association and recently represented UTSA through the Archer Fellowship Program in Washington D.C., where she did two internships and completed classes that taught her about policy.
As a student engagement intern with the Save the Children Action Network in Washington she interacted with high-school and college-level student organizations. With the International Rescue Committee, she helped manage and organize youth mentorship and afterschool programs as their youth development intern.
“The take away from my experience in Washington, is that I love the direct service of the nonprofit side,” she said. “That’s definitely where I see myself going to in the future. I want to continue working with more students, more youth, especially focusing on education and helping to develop them as leaders of tomorrow.”
Perez will have a busy couple of years following graduation. She recently got engaged to her fiancé, Zack Johnson, an architecture student who is also graduating this spring from UTSA, and this fall she’s heading to Thailand as part of the Fulbright Program. She’ll work as a teaching assistant there for a year helping young students learn English.
“I absolutely loved my time at UTSA,” Perez said. “If I wasn’t at work with the Honors College or in class, I would be at the VOICES office—those were the two places you could always find me. They were like my home on campus.”
“Part of what makes me have a strong connection to San Antonio is because I was able to find a home at UTSA and I think that’s critical for others to do as well,” she continued. “I wouldn’t have had the experiences I’ve had in San Antonio if it wasn’t for UTSA becoming my home or without all the friends that I’ve made, including other students and faculty.”
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This event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
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