Profile: Shakena Perry

Shakena Perry is the friendly face that students see when they arrive at the Center for Health and Wellness (CHW). She joined Emerson as the CHW’s clinical coordinator two years ago.

Perry is the first point of contact for students and parents who have questions about medical issues, self-care, and health insurance. All students are welcome to visit the CHW, including the graduate students who pay for health insurance through the College.

One of Perry’s responsibilities is scheduling appointments for students who need to get immunizations, flu shots, or physicals, or have medical issues. She also answers questions about health insurance and helps students fill out necessary paperwork. International students often have questions about the local healthcare system.

Having grown up in Boston’s South End neighborhood, Perry is familiar with the local urgent care facilities and hospitals and can answer students’ questions about medical resources outside of Emerson. There are about five hospitals within a two-mile radius of campus. Her administrative tasks include maintaining medical records, ordering office supplies, and submitting Facilities requests.

She enjoys her work because it marries her love of communicating with people with her interest in the medical field. Her favorite thing about working at Emerson is the opportunity to develop relationships with the students, who, in addition to coming in for appointments, stop in for informal advice on self-care or to pick up free Band-Aids, condoms, and lip balm. She strives to “make sure students are safe and knowledgeable about self-care.” She also likes working with her tight-knit team of nine coworkers.

Prior to her arrival at Emerson, she worked in the endocrinology and ob-gyn departments at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. She has a certificate in medical administration from the Bryman Institute in Brighton, Massachusetts.

Perry lives in Malden, Massachusetts, with her parents and younger brother. She likes to be a homebody and watch movies and play board games with her family. Her main hobbies revolve around food: she loves to cook and eat! Her favorite foods are lobster and fried chicken, and her signature dish is macaroni and cheese. Her latest culinary success was Thanksgiving dinner, which she helped her mom prepare.