Gil Perez awarded Outstanding Peer Education Advisor award from NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

Gil Perez, DoC lecturer faculty and alum, was honored at the 2024 NASPA Strategies Conference and awarded Outstanding Peer Education Advisor. This award recognizes peer education advisors' commitment to peer education efforts, unique talents as a peer education advisor, leadership ability, and presence as a positive role model for peer educators. This award was in recognition of Gil's work as a Personal Counselor at the Wellness Center at the College of San Mateo where he serves as the advisor for the Mental Health Peer Educators. Nominators wrote that "Gil has acted as a spearhead for important conversations about mental health, suicide prevention, harm reduction, and equity on campus. Gil Perez has a unique talent of making sure people take credit for and recognize the positive impact that they've had as peer educators. He makes such a deliberate effort to verbally acknowledge his pride in his peer educators and the work we’ve done. This has helped create such a positive environment where each person can take credit for their accomplishments and be proud. Gil has raised the standard for what a workplace environment should look like. He consistently promotes acknowledgement of our accomplishments and challenges us to look internally as to what change we are making on campus. He promotes inclusivity, conversations about intersectionality, repair work, and equity. He provides us with the necessary tools and mentorship for us to make our own passion projects a reality on campus. He plays an invaluable role in creating a community of checking in, making sure all voices are heard, and promotes the unlearning of stigma."