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.”
