Maritza Pulido: An Èxito! Grad Who Advocates for Those Facing Racial/Ethnic Bias

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Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program.

Maritza Pulido
San Francisco, Calif.

Growing up in California, Maritza Pulido had a strong-willed father who would object to her being placed into English-as-a-second-language classes just because of her last name.

Now she is an advocate for those who are mislabeled due to their last name and race.

Pulido, who developed a compassion for Latinos through her studies abroad in Chile and her travel throughout Latin America, wants to see educational equity for all people. She also values empowering youth toward education and overall betterment.

To that end, she earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a master’s degree in public health from San Francisco State University.

Pulido wanted to explore new ways to help people, so she took the advice of a mentor and applied to Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which offers a five-day summer institute and internships to encourage master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.

She said her time in Éxito! gave her “a picture of how academia, culture, and research work and will play into my career.”

“This opportunity was one of a kind, once in a lifetime,” she said. “I will never forget any of you for opening the doors.”

Éxito!, a program funded by the National Cancer Institute and directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will select 20 master’s-level students and health professionals from across the nation to attend a five-day summer institute in June 2015, in San Antonio, offering research information, tools, tips, role models and motivation to encourage participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying how cancer affects Latinos differently. Participants also are eligible to apply for one of several internships. Apply here.