ETSU Profile: Rochelly Rivera Matos

From East Tennessee State University:

Rochelly Rivera Matos grew up speaking Spanish as her primary language in her hometown of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico.

However, language has not been a significant barrier for her at East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy. The third-year student pharmacist has immersed herself in student organizations and helped her peers from different cultures and languages adapt to life in East Tennessee.

“My best friends in pharmacy school are from different cultures,” Rivera Matos said. “One is from China, one is from Vietnam, and another friend is Filipino/Mexican. I love that because we learn from different cultures, we grow as people and as pharmacists. We understand each other because we come from places where English is not the first language and the culture is different.”

Rivera Matos is a participant of Gatton College of Pharmacy’s PEER-E2 program, which stands for Promoting Engagement, Excellence, and Retention for students whose first or best language is not English.

The program provides specialized tutoring, a weekly language lab, peer mentoring, monthly culture and language exchange events and focused recruiting of linguistically diverse students. It was funded by a grant from the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation to support Gatton’s commitment to recruiting a diverse student body.

“The program has helped me improve my confidence because we are a group and we are here to learn together,” she said. “They teach us how to write correctly, how to improve the way we talk and express our thoughts in English, and also how to understand different accents we hear.”

Dr. Michele Williams, academic success specialist at Gatton College of Pharmacy, leads the PEER-E2 program and has been an important part of Rivera Matos’s journey.

“She has been an angel to me,” said Rivera Matos. “Pharmacy school can be a tough pathway, but with good mentors and friends it is good.”

Rivera Matos has known she wanted to be a pharmacist since she was a child. She majored in biology at the University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras campus and learned about Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy from a friend.

“When they called me for an interview, I flew from Puerto Rico with my dad and we fell in love with the city, the university and the people who work at Gatton College of Pharmacy.”

Since arriving at Gatton, she has been a part of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA). She is currently serving as director of social media and marketing for Gatton’s chapter of the Industrial Pharmacy Organization (IPhO) and as a Student Ambassador. Rivera Matos will be traveling back to Puerto Rico during the fall 2022 semester as an ambassador for Gatton to help recruit students who are interested in a career in pharmacy.

She hopes to share with prospective students some of her experiences at Gatton, such as the opportunities she has had to serve the community. For example, she has volunteered at local Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinics and helped translate for Spanish-speaking patients.

“It’s rewarding to give them the service they need in a language that they can understand,” she said.

As she moves into her final years of pharmacy school, Rivera Matos looks forward to a career where she can help patients overcome barriers to achieve wellbeing.

“I see pharmacy as more than helping; it is also about caring, empathy and humanity,” she said. “It is about feeling what patients feel and understanding them and giving them the quality of life that they need.”

This press release was produced by East Tennessee State University. The views expressed are the author's own.