Born in Worcester, Mass., to parents from Puerto Rico, Jacquelyn Toledo and her family have experienced their share of struggles and adversity over the years.
Toledo first had to learn English.
Then Toledo helped her parents and family navigate the health system, which made her resilient and gave her animo (hope) for better future.
Now Toledo, who has a bachelor’s degree in human service and a master’s degree in human service/organizational management and leadership from Springfield College, has spent more than 15 years doing this on a broader scale as a community health worker.
She has worked in many contexts, including patient navigation at a home care agency and her current role as coordinator for the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers.
With aims of implementing policy change for disenfranchised populations she serves, Toledo applied for the 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 called the program “phenomenal” as she explored how a doctoral degree could be instrumental in attaining her educational and careers goals.
“I want to replicate Éxito! and adapt it in my region,” she said. “It has cleared a lot of ambivalence I had about pursuing a doctoral degree. I had really believed obtaining a PhD/DrPh was something untouchable for someone like me.”
