Isabella Pérez Rodríguez is among the six Puerto Ricans who received early admission to the prestigious university.
By Liz Yanira Del Valle
Contributor
From an early age, Isabella Pérez Rodríguez has loved numbers and the piano. Math opened the doors to her immediate future, for example: being one of six Puerto Ricans -one woman and five men- who received early admission to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), according to the Association of Puerto Ricans of the aforementioned university.
Isabella participated in the Sagrado Neuroscience Pre-College Program (SNPP) in 2020, a pre-college internship for high school students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with an emphasis on neuroscience.
“Isabella demonstrates one of the SNPP’s missions: offering the resources and opportunities for students to turn their dreams into goals,” said Dr. Héctor de Jesús Cortés, co-founder of the SNPP together with Dr. Edmarie Guzmán Vélez.
“We are extremely proud of Isabella, and we know that she will continue to reap rewards. She will be one of the Puerto Rican scientists who positively impact our society,” he added to inSagrado.
According to De Jesús Cortés, most of those accepted to MIT enter through early admission, and
in 2021, they only accepted 4.1 percent. Guzmán Vélez added: “Without a doubt, it is a source of pride to see our students achieve their goals, especially this generation, who’s had to deal with hurricanes, earthquakes, and a COVID-
19 pandemic. Getting into MIT through early admission is extremely difficult, which is yet another example of Isabella’s perseverance and talent.”
As for Isabella, she said: “Math was my favorite subject, and thanks to a seventh grade teacher, I participated in the Puerto Rico Math Olympiad. This motivated me to pursue my interests in STEM, besides achieving greater representation of women in the field.”
The SNPP served as a stimulus and a guide to Isabella.
“The SNPP helped define my priorities in the area of STEM. A talk about neurological studies carried out with different animals sparked my interest in biology, which was something that I had not previously thought of.”
Isabella Pérez Rodríguez,
Student at Colegio Mater Salvatoris and SNPP participant
In 2021, Isabella saw De Jesús Cortés again on the MIT campus.
“I appreciate the support and mentorship of both (De Jesús Cortés and Guzmán Vélez). I visited the laboratory of Dr. De Jesús Cortés at MIT, and it was a gratifying experience,” added Pérez Rodríguez, who is interested in bioengineering.
“I never thought I would participate in the Math Olympiad, much less that I would get to MIT. However, the support of my family, my teachers, and the SNPP mentors helped me,” she expressed.
SNPP 2022
The SNPP is open for students from ninth to eleventh grade, from both public and private schools, with a minimum academic index of 3.0.
The 35 students who will be selected for the 2022 edition will participate, free of charge, in a virtual internship during the months of June and July. Through this program, students will benefit from seminars and interactive activities on careers in STEM, research methods, professional development, and the university admissions process, among others.
The deadline to apply is February 28, 2022. Those interested can complete the application by clicking here. For information, please call 787-728-1515, extensions 2419 or 2424, write to sagradoec@sagrado.edu, or visit https://sagradoglobal.lpages.co.