Arkansas Tech University student Oscar Perez views leadership as the act of putting others first.
“For me, it’s being a role model…being someone that people look up to, respect and trust,” said Perez. “You may be the president or vice president or whatever it may be within your organization, but it doesn’t mean that whatever you say goes. You should hear what your members have to say. Being a leader means constantly thinking about the people around me and trying to do what’s best to make sure they have as good of an experience as I’ve had.”
Perez, an ATU junior from Warren, was selected by the ATU Center for Student Engagement and First-Gen Success as the September 2025 ATU student leader of the month.
A first-generation college student, Perez is president of the ATU Latinx Student Organization and the ATU student chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens. He is also an officer for Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and the ATU Interfraternity Council. Perez holds membership in Rotaract and ATU Geology Club, and he serves as a student worker in the ATU Department of Campus Life. He is also a peer mentor for the ATU minority mentorship program and a freshman orientation leader, and during the summer months he serves as a counselor in the ATU Upward Bound program.
Perez is majoring in computer engineering and electrical engineering.
“As a leader, you have a standard that you need to meet, but once you meet that standard, then what…are you just going to stop there, or do you want to raise that standard even more?” said Perez. “That’s something I’m constantly telling myself. The biggest obstacle is myself. Back in high school, I didn’t hold any leadership roles and I didn’t know anything about leadership. I never strived to be anything like that until I got (to ATU).”
As of his junior year in high school, Perez wasn’t even sure that college was for him. But he was good at math, so he started researching universities that offered degrees in engineering and computer science.
Then came the day that a pamphlet from Arkansas Tech arrived in the mail. He learned about ATU’s student-to-teacher ratio, its position as a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) leader in Arkansas and the average financial aid available to Arkansas Tech students.
All of that information persuaded Perez to make several visits to the ATU campus in Russellville, including the annual high school senior preview day, Time Out for Tech.
“I was like, yeah, this is where I’m going to school,” said Perez. “I visited time and time again, and I fell in love with (ATU) more and more. It is big enough that there is always going to be someone new to me, but not so big that I have to walk mountains to get around. Everyone was really nice. I love the environment, and I think that’s what pushed me to come to Tech. I’ve been loving it ever since.”
Perez’s comfort level with enrolling at Arkansas Tech was aided by the fact that his godsister, Aileen Rivera, was already a student there.
“She was a really big reason why I got so involved on campus,” said Perez. “Pretty much everything she did, I do now. Freshman me was very introverted, but she pushed me to get out of my bubble and meet people. It makes a big difference to have someone there for you. She had a big impact on me and what I’m doing now.”
Perez recalls his freshman orientation as one of his favorite Arkansas Tech memories. He said his orientation leader, Torin Matthews, was instrumental in introducing him to campus and helping him get involved in a wide variety of campus organizations.
Two years later, Perez pays forward that generosity through his work as a freshman orientation leader.
“(Matthews) pushed me and inspired me to be more like him,” said Perez. “Even now, I strive every day to become a little more like him. He influences me a lot. Now, as an orientation leader, I meet so many new people and I feel like I’m having the same kind of impact on them that my orientation leader had on me. Seeing that come full circle has been mind-boggling, but it’s really cool.”
