Medical student uses Peace Corps experiences to turn community engagement into a lifelong mission

Medical school was not always on the radar for Josh Perez, a second-year student at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, but his time as a Peace Corps volunteer solidified one thing he had always known. He had a deep, unwavering love for people and the community around him. Eventually, medical school seemed like the perfect fit.

As an earth science major at Dartmouth College, Perez completed a complex senior thesis for which he found himself having to spend a lot of time defending its importance to those outside academia.

“After college, I decided I needed to broaden my horizons, to get out from under my academic bubble,” he said.

That’s when he found his way to the Peace Corps, which would offer transformative experiences in community engagement.

As a community health volunteer, Perez spent two years in Maria Antonia, Paraguay, a rural, agricultural town challenged by limited economic development. Paraguay is a small landlocked country in South America. Perez taught chemistry, physics, music, nutrition, and sexual education to elementary age students and facilitated healthy lifestyle groups.

The señoras

One group in particular became a highlight of his time in the Peace Corps. He convened a group of village woman to learn more about how to promote healthy lifestyles in the community. To his surprise, they asked him if he could teach Zumba.

“I told them, ‘I’ve never taught Zumba, but let’s make it happen,’” he said. “One thing I learned early on was in order to get things done as a community organizer, I really needed to engage the community in things that they wanted.”

So Perez downloaded dozens of Zumba videos on his laptop, and once each week, while the men were out playing soccer, 30 women gathered for a cardio workout with Latin-inspired music and dance. A small assembly of women at first, the group grew into much more.

“It became a civically active women’s group within the community,” he said. “For example, when the town’s mayor was interested in certain projects, he would present his ideas to the Zumba group. Suddenly this small idea grew to the point that the governor [a regional government leader] came to see the group perform.”

Perez became increasingly proud of “his señoras,” who shared their progress, photos, and healthy recipes among each other and became a very supportive community.

A force for good in the world

One hot summer day, Perez was outdoors exercising when a little girl and her mother walked by. The girl pointed to Perez and said, “Mommy, that is what I want to be when I get older.” That brief moment was one of the most meaningful during his time in the Peace Corps.

“That’s when I really saw the power that one person can have on a community,” Perez said. “I really do try to be the best role model — to be the change that I want to see in the world.”

Perez’s time in Paraguay was cut short by the outbreak of COVID-19. Community members asked him if they should be worried about the virus, and he told them he didn’t really think so. Within 12 hours, he was on the last commercial flight out of Paraguay. Fortunately, he was able to make a brief return before he started medical school to give proper farewells.

Between the Peace Corps and medical school, Perez worked at the Food and Drug Administration as a project specialist. He began applying the things he learned in Paraguay, answering questions such as: How do we engage our stakeholders to participate in clinical trials? How do we get information out and have people feel passionate about it? He also spent an emotionally charged time as a volunteer working with the unaccompanied minors at the U.S. southern border. There he spent time interacting with the migrants and serving as their medical interpreter.

“I began to think, ‘Maybe there’s a place for me in medicine.’”

Life in medical school

As a busy medical student, Perez continues to seek opportunities to be engaged with others. He is on the board of directors for the Superkids Foundation, a nonprofit that empowers Latin American children to be agents of change in their community.

Perez also volunteers in another capacity: teaching English as a second language at Roanoke’s Blue Ridge Literacy.

“Josh’s ability to connect with folks who are learning English and share information with in in a context and format that they can understand is really exceptional,” said Sara Geres, program director for the organization. “Some of those things can be taught, but some are just natural. He comes by them naturally.”

His fluency in Spanish also enables him to help non-native English speakers who are seeking care in local clinics.

“I think Spanish is the greatest skill that my past experiences have taught me,” Perez said. “It’s one I’m going to continue to use when I’m a practicing physician. My experiences also made me realize that I needed to be exposed to how people from other countries view the world. I needed those perspectives for me. The Peace Corps was the right decision.”