Laura Perez-Villagomez

Congressional Intern, Presented By: Walmart
Hometown: Omaha, Nebraska
School: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Majors: Psychology, Sociology
Placement: The Office of Rep. Sharice Davids

Laura was born in Guanajuato, México but immigrated to the United States at a young age. Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska Laura has been surrounded by an abundance of culture and love, but simultaneously became aware of the lack of resources that her South Omaha community offered for individuals to succeed. Grasping at this opportunity to strengthen her community, Laura was motivated to pursue a career of giving back to others.

Laura recently graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology. Involvement in the Iniciativa Healthcare Access & Bienestar Latine lab allowed her to connect with members from the Latinx Community through the COVID-19 Attitudes, Risks, & Experiences project. As a research assistant, she interviewed members of the Latinx Community to learn more about COVID-19 related symptoms and experiences, and overall healthcare access. Most recently, Laura finished her internship with Nebraska Appleseed where she learned more about food economic justice and worked towards actively communicating with Spanish-speaking communities on related social issues through translation tasks. Laura hopes to attend graduate school to pursue a career in Counseling and Therapy to help break the stigma of mental health within marginalized communities. Her dedication and ambition to start a non-profit that provides mental health services and resources for the Latinx Community is one she hopes to see to fruition in the near future.

As a CHCI Intern, Laura hopes to expand her knowledge of public health and learn first-hand from community leaders how to implement actionable change in society. She hopes to use this experience to empower other minority individuals to take chances and to DREAM BIG.