ERICA RAMOS


New york,ny

“School, then work, then school, then work.”

I’ve been working since I was 14 because my mom is a single mom and she could not afford other expenses besides school.  It’s been hard but it’s made me who I am today and it’s kept me strong.  It’s taught me lots of lessons. 

 

It’s very important for me not to follow stereotypes.  I’m Latina.  Growing up in the ghetto.  I live in the projects and everyone expects you to fail, no one expects you to succeed, no one expects you to go to college. 

 

I’ve been in school since 2004.  First Dominican college—but I ran out of money.  I took a semester off to work and then pay for the next semester in school.  I started attending Boricua College, but most of my credits wouldn’t transfer.  I was a 25-year-old freshman! 

 

Then—I got the scholarship.  It’s been a true blessing.  It’s so nice to have somebody believe in you and trust you and know that they have a little faith in you.  And now—I cant just do it for myself, I have to do it for the scholarship.  I have to make these people proud.  I graduate in the spring.  I’m going to start student teaching. I want people to look at me and say, wow, she accomplished a lot.  She came from nothing and did a lot for herself. 













SOLEDAD

“Erica is such a wonderful role model for never, ever, ever giving up.  Even though she’s been pretty much paying her way since her early teenage years, she has a kind and gentle spirit, and is always thinking of others. 

 

Finances have been a major problem, and when I hear that she was attending school every other semester—she’d work one semester, then go back to school the next—I knew that was not a scenario that would last.  She was focusing so much on paying for school and not enough on the coursework. 

 

With her hard work—and our scholarship—I’m proud to say, Erica went from being an okay student to joining the Honor Society.  She cried giving her speech—she was so overwhelmed and she was trying to thank so many people.  But truth is, she deserves all the credit.  She never gave up, even in the most difficult circumstances. 

 

She wants to work with kids in Special Education—and maybe even go back to get her Master’s degree.  Erica has the patience of a saint—she will make a terrific educator. ”