Andrea Ramirez Receives $10,000 Pister Scholarship to UC Santa Cruz
Tue, 7 May, 2013 at 11:43 amRamirez arrived at Cañada College unable to speak English and looking for a supportive environment to raise her young daughter and found a place where she could excel academically.
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| Ramirez reviews the award letter with President Buckley. |
It’s been a long road to academic success for Ramirez, who
arrived at Cañada College from Acapulco, Mexico with no ability to speak
English but determined to make a better future for her baby daughter.
When Ramirez came to the United States, she quickly learned
she would need to speak English in order to get a job. “I realized the only way
to become independent, successful and set a good example for my daughter was to
learn English,” she said.
In 2003, she enrolled in English as a Second Language
classes at Cañada. “The college became a new home for me and my ESL classes
opened up a new world of educational opportunities,” she said. “ESL classes
helped me develop my skills in writing, communication, reading comprehension,
and vocabulary which were important for me to understand if I was going to take
other classes at Cañada.”
As she gained proficiency in English, Ramirez gained her
voice in the college community. She became involved in school activities and
clubs, including the school’s honor society and student government. She also
began working for CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse) and the local
YWCA to help victims of domestic violence, translating and advocating for
Latinas with limited English proficiency.
“My bilingual skills
have made me an especially effective ally for such women and their families,”
she said. “I want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in feminist studies and then go
on to law school. I want to become a family law attorney.”
Alison Field, a history professor at Cañada, said Ramirez
has served as a role model for other students and the community. “Not only is
she an active member of the classroom and campus community, but she is also a
supportive mom to her daughter and a volunteer for two non-profit organizations
that serve the larger community,” Field wrote in a letter of support for
Ramirez to the Pister Scholarship Committee.
Victoria Worch, student activities coordinator at the
college, has worked closely with Ramirez in student government. Worch said
Ramirez has come a long way from arriving in this country as a young mother
without the ability to speak English.
“If there is one
thing I have noticed about Andrea,” Worch said, “it is how she can handle a lot
on her plate. Few of us have the strengths to achieve greatness and she has the
strength to do that.”
Ramirez said the support she received in the Cañada College
Learning Center from tutors such as Susan Traynor and Julie Wilson was
essential to her academic success. She also credits ESL professors Alicia
Aguirre and John Saenz for helping her learn English and Soraya Sohrabi for
convincing her to apply for the Pister Scholarship.
“Soraya spent many hours explaining the UC application
process to me and answering all of my questions,” Ramirez said. “She always encouraged
me to try and to never give up. She was there to give me a lift up when I was
down, especially when I doubted whether I could finish school.”
Despite earning the prestigious Pister Scholarship, Ramirez
is planning to attend UC Berkeley in the fall. In 2012, Carlos Ortega, a global
economics major at Cañada, also earned the Pister Scholarship but turned it
down to stay closer to home and attend UC Berkeley.
“Berkeley is closer to home and it was my first choice
academically. It really is my dream school,” Ramirez said. “I’ll be able to
commute to school which will make it easier for me and my daughter. It’s a
dream come true.”
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