Danvers Student Earns Marblehead Counseling Center Scholarship

DANVERS, MA — An Essex North Shore High School senior from Danvers is the inaugural recipient of the Marblehead Counseling Center's Community Service Scholarship.

Camila Ferrer Gomez earned the $1,000 scholarship awarded to a North Shore graduating high school senior with particular emphasis on students interested in entering the health and wellness profession.

"I can't tell you how thrilled we are to announce Camila Ferrer Gomez of Danvers as the winner of our scholarship," said Ruth Ferguson, President of the MCC Board of Directors. "She is a really impressive young woman. We’re so proud to be able to recognize her hard work."

For more than 55 years, the Marblehead Counseling Center has provided social and mental health services to families and individuals in the area.

Ferrer Gomez plans to attend Boston University this fall to study Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Through Essex Tech, she works at a biopharmaceutical company that is in the middle of developing microbiome therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.

She said working in such a high-risk environment has taught her the importance of precision, careful planning, and effective time management.

"It has also made me increasingly aware of healthcare disparities," she wrote in her application, "and I am driven to address them in my career. I aspire to promote access to medical advancements for underserved communities."

Ferrer Gomez has also been a Massachusetts soccer state referee for three years. She says as a young female official, she often faces discrimination on the field. Ferrer Gomez recently met a young girl who was inspired by her to become a referee.

"It reaffirmed my commitment to officiating and advocating for female representation in the sport," she said.

She is now a mentor in the Danvers Youth Soccer Program, and hopes to continue working for equal representation of women in male-dominated fields in the future.

Ferguson says it's a high point for the Center to be able to publicly recognize Ferrer Gomez and to help her begin her journey into medical science. Ferguson notes that both Ferrer Gomez and Marblehead resident Anne Tassel-Todisco, winner of the Amy R. Saltz Community Champions Award, will be celebrated on May 1 at the Community Champions Celebration at the Beacon Restaurant in Marblehead.

Tickets to the event help support the ongoing work of MCC and its mission to provide affordable, quality mental health care and social services to Marblehead and surrounding towns.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)