Name: José Ricardo Pérez
Year: Sophomore, 2015
Hometown: Dorado, P.R.
Major: Finance
Relationship status: It’s complicated
HCUPR: Involvements on campus?
José: Member of the Capítulo Estudiantil Sociedad Ambiente Marino (abbreviated as CESAM)
HCUPR: Favorite food?
José: Italian
HCUPR: Favorite music?
José: Reggae
HCUPR: Favorite artists…
José: SOJA, Groundation, Bob Marley…
HCUPR: Who’s your favorite fictional hero?
José: Iron Man
HCUPR: Fun fact…
José: Would like to live in the middle of nowhere.
HCUPR: What do you appreciate the most in a woman?
José: Intelligence.
HCUPR: How would your dream life look like?
José: I’d have my own business, travel all the time… I don’t know. I want to make the most out of this life.
HCUPR: Who are your real-life heroes?
José: I think I’d go with Julian Assange because he attempted to achieve higher government transparency with the foundation of WikiLeaks. As citizens, we don’t really get to know what truly goes on when our diplomats meet up with other countries’ foreign ministers. So, when Assange published the embassies’ cables, people all over the world became aware of many uncomfortable truths we wouldn’t have come to know otherwise. I also consider Angela Merkel [Germany’s chancellor] as one of my real-life heroes, since I think she is one of the most practical yet considerate leaders around. She is a great politician, and her economic policy exemplifies her competence and her vast knowledge about economics.
HCUPR: What do you do as an extracurricular activity?
José: Well, I work at a clinic laboratory, but since February I’m a member of CESAM [which stands for Capítulo Estudiantil Sociedad Ambiente Marino]. Basically, it’s a student organization here, in Naturales that looks out for the well-being and the preservation of the environment. We give conferences and lectures on how to save marine ecosystems, but we also have projects for the conservation of tinglares [the largest marine turtles in the world] and coral reefs, and for the control of lionfish. But I’m more involved with the tinglares’ project. There, we watch and protect the turtles’ nests, without interfering with the baby turtles. I love it.
HCUPR: What has been your most memorable adventure?
José: It was during Christmas break, and we went to the San Cristóbal Canyon (el Caño San Cristóbal) in Barranquitas. It was insane. We almost died, actually hahaha. I went there with some friends, and one of them wanted to climb up one of the steepest mountains. We were kind of really scared, but when we made it to the top, I knew it had been totally worth it.
HCUPR: What is your favorite quote/motto:
José: “Never regret anything you’ve ever done.”
*The pictures were taken from:
José’s Facebook