Juliana Perez,
Learning Skills Specialist
LEAD
Join year: 2024
What Inspires Me
I love learning from a variety of disciplines and applying those concepts and perspectives to my practice with students as an Occupational Therapy. I borrow from performance psychology to view students as cognitive athletes by evaluating student engagement in terms of mindset, training, and academic performance. I implement concepts from positive psychology such as mindfulness and using strength-based intervention strategies to support the learning process. I also have a love of folklore and storytelling that I incorporate as a tool while working with students to engender autonomy and agency while on their academic and professional journey.
Wellbeing
Mind
I like engaging in preferred occupations wherein I experience flow-state – the physical and mental immersion in an activity that reduces stress while increasing focus. Similarly, I practice mindfulness and meditations to help center my mind while also maintaining a routine, using organization systems, and brain dumping – writing down anything that is on my mind – to reduce stress and focus.
Body
My grandparents always reenforced good posture, and specialists agree. Standing up straight (e.g., pulling back your shoulders, engaging your core, and uncrossing your arms) has many health benefits – physical and mental! For instance, good posture not only conveys confident body language, but can make you feel confident!
I also like to keep moving throughout the day by creating an ergonomic workspace like having a sit-to-stand desk. For exercise, I prefer to engage in low-intensity activities such Pilates, yoga, dance, walking, hiking, kayaking, and paddleboarding.
Self
I think that it is important to always increase self-awareness and collect data on yourself by taking self-assessments. There are numerous assessments that reveal important information about yourself like the Meyers-Brigg Personality assessment that can tell you about your personality type – I am an ENFJ – and the Chronotype quiz that shows when you are most productive and how much sleep you need. I like self-assessments so much that I created a self-assessment for college students called the Self-Assessments for Student Success that helps students identify strengths and limitations in all areas impacting student life. I also like to practice self-care activities like going for walks, listening to music, going to the beach, reading a good book, and taking a bubble bath.
Social
I am a member of the Lakewood Leadership Academy where I engage with community members to contribute to our city and its members through volunteering and advocacy. I am passionate about occupational justice - the individual’s right to have equal opportunities to meaningful engagement their environment – and I had the opportunity to teach ethics and occupational justice!
Interests/Hobbies
I am a Southern California girl and as such I love being in the beautiful outdoors exploring new places with family and friends. I love beach days, paddle boarding, hiking, wine tasting in vineyards, trying new foods, exploring new places, and learning about different cultures.
I was an English major undergrad, so I love reading, understanding people’s unique lived experiences, writing, and theatre. . . I studied Shakespeare abroad in Stratford-Upon-Avon and at the Globe Theatre in London!