LYNN — Raymi Ramirez has made her family proud as a first-generation college student — she’s about to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to receive her Ph.D. in physics and biology in medicine in hopes of becoming a medical physicist.
Ramirez grew up in Lynn, attending Ingalls Elementary School and English High School, and graduated in May of this year from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. with a degree in physics, concentrating in astronomy.
Ramirez said she has taken Lynn — her experiences of growing up in the city — with her throughout college and credits its people, culture and diversity for shaping her into the person she is today.
“I like to think that I kind of carry this place with me in a way,” she said.
She recalls a teacher she encountered during her junior year at English telling her that she would do great things in college, but advised her to never forget where she came from.
Attending Skidmore, a predominantly white institution, Ramirez said she struggled a bit getting used to the atmosphere, but being exposed to the diversity in Lynn throughout her life helped her adjust.
At Skidmore, Ramirez balanced six jobs on campus, working in areas such as health services and serving as a teaching assistant in the physics department. She also participated in a variety of clubs, including the student government association and diversity clubs.
She said UCLA was her “reach” school, adding that she was shocked when she was asked to interview for the prestigious program; she said she was speechless when she got accepted.
“I couldn’t imagine going forward and being the first person in my family getting a Ph.D.,” Ramirez said. “I remember looking at the acceptance letter and thinking how much this will change my life.”
As a first-generation college student, Ramirez said she is the first person in her family to pursue that level of higher education.
With this accomplishment in mind, Ramirez said her parents have been incredibly supportive and in-tune with her dreams.
“I’m really happy that I can make people proud back home,” she said.
Being from Lynn, Ramirez said she always felt like there wasn’t too much expected from her, which pushed her to work harder.
She said there are so many other kids out there like her who don’t have the opportunities she’s had so far, so she is thankful for what she has been able to accomplish in a short time.
“I’ve always been an academic,” Ramirez said. “My mom had my baby shower in the Ingalls library, so I think I’ve always been school-oriented.”
What matters the most to her, she said, is that she has never had a Black professor and has yet to learn about Black physicists.
“Nothing that I did the past four years represented me, and I can only imagine how much different my life would have been the past four years, in the sense of acclimating to the college I went to, if I had just one person that represents me, my background, or what I went through,” she said.
Ramirez hopes to change that, saying the idea that she, a Black woman, could be someone’s teacher next year matters to her.
“That representation matters,” Ramirez said. “I want to be able to work in a hospital, or when I become a professor I want the students to say, ‘Hey, my professor looks like me.'”
Ramirez thanked her friends, family and teachers who have supported her on her journey, and said she is proud of where she came from and is happy to represent Lynn.
