Pay it Forward: Five Lessons from a Departing Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Hector Perez worked with many Indigenous communities during his time as a postdoctoral fellow at the Games Institute including the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba who often asked him, “When are you coming back?” One of the most valuable lessons Perez learned was that Indigenous communities would expect visitors, including researchers, to return to the community to share their research insights and participate in social gatherings. As Dr. Perez moves on to new opportunities, there are five lessons he wants to impart on our community.
Lesson 1: Expand Your Skillset
Dr. Hector Perez (right) with Dr. Lili Liu (left), Dean of the Faculty of Health
Perez has an eclectic academic and work background; his bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s in business administration. Perez had not considered a future in health and games research, but he was always looking for opportunities to expand his knowledge and skill sets.
He’s worked with NGOs in Poland, and has lived in Japan, Portugal, Spain, and Costa Rica, taking up different research positions at different institutions, learning local languages along the way. His journey eventually took him across the border to Minnesota, USA to work with the Mayo Clinic as he pursued a PhD in strategic planning and technology management, especially health technologies.
Perez found himself learning an entirely new vocabulary, picking up a wide variety of health terminology. It was a leap from where he started, putting him out of his comfort zone, but he was up to the challenge and with considerable care and understanding he progressed through his degree and ended up working at Sick Kids, Toronto.
Perez is not one to shy away from new experiences. If he has the chance to do something new and exciting, He’s ready to pursue it.
Lesson 2: Jump on Every Opportunity
Dr. Perez demonstrating a VR training simulation to a delegation from the Saxion University of Applied Sciences.
Once Perez joined the University of Waterloo as a postdoctoral researcher for the Aging and Innovation Research Program working with Dr. Lili Liu, Dean of the Faculty of Health, he actively sought out new opportunities on campus.
A large part of Perez’s work with Liu was utilizing immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) to train first responders responsible for locating missing persons living with dementia. Used as a training tool, VR would better equip first responders with context specific skills.
Their initial steps into VR research, brought the team of researchers to the GI. Games and immersive technologies was certainly a new area of research for Perez, one that he was excited to learn more about.
Perez saw the opportunity to become a part of the GI’s unique interdisciplinary research and collaboration efforts. He met GI health researchers Dr. John Muñoz (Systems Design Engineering), who work with VR applications for aging populations, and PhD candidate Samira Mehrabi(Aging, Health and Well-being), who researchers the positive impacts of VR exercise games on physical and mental health.
Perez knew immediately that joining the GI would have a profound impact on his research; with so many disciplines represented in the membership, he had access to a wide range of perspectives that broadened his understanding of what it means to do research in games and immersive technologies.
Once a GI member, he joined the Anti-Racism, Decolonization, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (ADE Committee). With the Committee’s commitment to expand the GI’s understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion, he saw an opportunity to continue his personal and professional growth. Perez connected with other Committee members, learning about their lives and experiences, and taking the time to educate himself and reflect on his past experiences.
Lesson 3: Collaboration is Key
Dr. Perez speaking with UWaterloo President Dr. Vivek Goel at the GI Openhouse.
Members of the GI are encouraged to collaborate with researchers outside of their disciplines. GI events offer everyone the chance to broaden their perspectives, and Perez was very involved in what’s happening at the GI.
In 2022, Perez spearheaded a networking event between the GI and AGE-WELL, a Canadian aging and technology research network. The event included networking, game and technology demonstrations and presentations from experts in aging research and serious game design. This was not the only time where Perez stepped up to the plate to connect with like-minded peers.
In 2023, the GI welcomed a delegation of researchers from the Saxion University of Applied Sciences. This visit included presentations from GI members, including Perez who shared the current state of his VR training simulation for first responders.
Perez’s research and work with first responders, has led him to many communities within Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba to discuss the effects of dementia within Indigenous communities. This has resulted in collaboration with the First Nations Chiefs of Police Association and the Kahnawá:ke Peacekeepers, a primary service for law enforcement with the Mohawk Council.
Lesson 4: Talk to People
Dr. Hector Perez (left) with Dr. Kelly Laurila opening an event in the ADE Speaker Series
If there’s anything Perez has learned through his time globetrotting, conducting research, and relationship building it is that one of the easiest things an emerging scholar can do is simply talk to people. Since coming to the GI, Perez has been immersed in a community full of, what we here at the GI like to refer to as, ‘misfits.’ Researchers who don’t belong to any one specific discipline who are looking for the ways to bridge the gaps between them.
One gathering of ‘misfits’ is the yearly GI Research Speed Dating, an event that allows members, both students and faculty, to talk to many people in quick succession. Members are paired up to participate in minute long conversations to familiarize themselves with each other’s research. Perez recalls getting paired with PhD Candidate Sid Heeg (Sustainability Management) and learning more about farming than he’s ever cared to know!
In 2021, Perez successfully applied for the GI Seed Grant for his project “Dementia-friendly Frist Responders Edu-action: An Interactive Participatory and Co-designed Training Course for Indigenous First Responders.” Being a member of the GI meant that he had access to the technology, infrastructure, and highly qualified interdisciplinary researchers.
From people like PhD Candidate Marco Moran Ledesma (Systems Design Engineering) and Dr. John Muñoz, Perez learned how to design within a VR environment to suit his needs. He also worked with GI administrative staff Agata Antkiewicz (Associate Director) and Pamela Maria Schmidt, (Research Project Manager) to purchase the needed equipment, pay his study participants, and work on the scope of his knowledge mobilization deliverables. Perez appreciated the chance to learn how to make his research accessible to researchers outside of health.
Lesson 5: Pay it Forward
Left to right: Dr. Hector Perez, Agata Antkiewicz, Marco Moran-Ledesma, Pamela Maria Schmidt, and Ana Lucia Diaz de Leon Derby
“When are you coming back?” isn’t just something Perez heard during his time with the Peguis First Nation but a sentiment that he is actively trying to embody and understand. He works to give back to the community he finds himself in a instead of simply taking what he needs and leaving. Therefore, Perez feels that his moving on to a new job isn’t so much as a ‘goodbye’ to the GI community but rather a ‘see you later.’
In his time at the GI, Perez has built up the skills and connections he needed to find himself working with the Hamilton Police Services as a Business and Program Evaluation Specialist. This transition feels natural to Perez after working with police services over the past two years as part of his research.
“I feel lucky to have these sorts of interactions and opportunities,” he said, and he looks forward to continuing his work on building and programming tools to aid in search and rescue efforts.
Perez fondly recalls the sense of community garnered at the GI. He remembers the football (that’s soccer for all the North Americans out there) matches that were broadcasted in the GI Collaboration Space during the 2022 World Cup season.
He appreciates the constant support and mentorship that he was given by Executive Director, Dr. Neil Randall (English Language and Literature) and wishes he had access to a place like the GI when he was a student. “Not a lot of students in Health know about this place,” he said, “but I wish they would get more involved at the GI.”
Perez won’t be gone for long; he continues to be an active member in the GI from a distance and seeks out ways to pay forward the skills he developed during his time here. Of course, we never doubted that Hector will be coming back. In early 2024, he’ll return for the GI Seed Grant Symposium so if you’ve got any burning questions for him, he’ll be happy to answer them then!