Remembering Kimberly Rosario Perez
Kimberly Rosario Perez, MSU Ph.D. candidate in Sociology and Afric
an Studies, died in a vehicle accident in Accra, Ghana, on August 14. Kim was in Ghana on a short break from her intensive research in Kano in northern Nigeria.
She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alberto and Estrella Perez and is survived by two brothers, Kenneth Perez and Kevin Perez. She was 30.
After completing her BA at University of California-Santa Cruz, Kim served in the Peace Corps in Phokoane, South Africa, north of Johannesburg, on HIV/AIDS awareness and community development. She then completed an M.A. in Public Diplomacy and International Affairs at the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Boston - and in 2003 enrolled in a Ph.D. program at Michigan State.
In 2005, she completed all requirements of the Ph.D. in Sociology except for her dissertation -- completing her comprehensive exams faster than any of my graduate students that I can remember. After receiving several Title VI African Language and Area Studies Fellowships and reaching advanced proficiency in Hausa language, in a national competition in 2005 she was awarded a prestigious Fulbright Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education. In 2006, the U.S. National Science Foundation granted her a Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Award in Sociology.
Since January 2006, Kim has been living in Kano, Nigeria where she was consulting with faculty at Bayero University and conducting field research on "Decentralization and Representation in Nigerian Local Government: Bridging Ethnic, Religious, and Gender Cleavages in Kaduna, Nigeria," a topic she had developed at MSU from her extended travels in West Africa in 2004-05.
In Accra, visiting on holiday, Kim was riding a "passenger lorry" near the center of the city. The driver swerved to avoid a vendor's pushcart in the road, and the vehicle flipped over. The vendor was and hit and killed, and Kim also died immediately. Several other passengers were badly injured, and she and they were rushed to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the premier national referral hospital in Ghana.
The funeral or memorial service for Kim was held in San Diego, CA on Saturday, September 2 where her family lives.
Members of the family have created a myspace tribute of pictures of Kim from various times in her life and details of the viewing and funeral at http://www.myspace.com/kim_memorial. Those who wish may add their message to the space.
Memorial Service at MSU
We invite you to join us on Friday, October 6, 4pm for a Celebration of the Life of Kimberly Rosario Perez, 1976-2006.
The Celebration will be at the St. John's Catholic Student Parish, 327 MAC Avenue, East Lansing, Michigan (one block from campus, across the street from the East Lansing Marriott Hotel).
The Celebration will be followed by a reception at the church with food at approximately 5:15 - 7:00 pm. Find directions and a map at http://www.stjohnmsu.org/contactus/directions.php
Our hearts go out to Kim's family and all who knew this very intelligent, creative, venturesome, courageous, and industrious woman. She was one of the good people, making many contributions to the human community during her too few years among us. We have been enriched by Kim's presence, and we are lessened by her absence. We shall miss her very much and hold dearly to our memories of her.
Condolences
If you wish to send condolences to the family, you can reach them at: Kim's brother: "Kenneth Perez" <atzin@earthlink.net>; Kim's parents: Mr. and Mrs. Alberto and Estrella Perez, 4286 Del Sol Court, San Diego, CA 92154.
