Jennifer Ramos '20, Education and Liberal Studies
Education concentration: Social Justice, Policy, Community

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation! How did you decide to become an education major? Before adding Education as a second major, I was only pursuing Liberal Studies (LBST). Being that LBST was a very broad major and was not entirely focused on education topics, I had heard from a friend who was also a LBST major that she added the education major and she loved it. After taking “Intro to Education,” I soon realized that the topics discussed during this class truly hit close to home, and I developed a passion for learning more about critical ways of perceiving education. It was then that I added the major.

Tell us a little about your time at UCR and some of the activities that you participated in. My time at UCR was a rollercoaster mostly because each quarter and year was so different from one another. My freshman year I dormed in A-I, and this is where I met my friends who I created memories with throughout college. My sophomore year I joined TRIO Scholars which allowed me to have access to resources that helped pave the way of my college journey. I was able to attend professional development workshops and be exposed to career options, I visited graduate schools, and built a community with fellow TRIO scholars and staff.

My junior year, I became a GSOE Ambassador and also had the opportunity to present with a few of my GSOE peers at the Harvard School of Education. We presented to Harvard alumni, scholars, and students. My last year at UCR, I was fortunate enough to study abroad in Spain for four months. During my time abroad, I traveled to seven different countries in Europe and one country in Africa. My last quarter at UCR, I decided to join the UC Center Sacramento program for which I interned at the California Department of Education for the Government Affairs Department (GAD). I learned to further understand education law, and had the opportunity to make connections with many of my team members at GAD. My entire experience at UCR was thrilling mostly because there were so many opportunities that I was able to take, and each year I found myself doing something different and exciting.
 

What is your favorite thing about UCR? After studying abroad in Spain, I realized how grateful I was to attend UCR. My favorite aspect about UCR, would have to be the GSOE professors and teaching assistants. The GSOE staff and faculty is filled with many folx of color, different cultures, and backgrounds. Seeing and having classes taught by GSOE staff and faculty has helped me gain a sense of empowerment and belonging.

How do you feel your experience at GSOE prepared you for your next step? My experience at GSOE has encouraged me to become a critical educator that fights for equitable education wherever I am at. Growing up in low-income schools that were predominantly populated by minority students, I grew accustomed to the many injustices that occurred in my schools, and after taking several education courses that focused more on social justice I began to realize that the injustices that I saw had vocabulary terms such as school-to-prison-pipeline, banking method, teacher turnaround, and many more terms. My experience at GSOE taught me that I can go back to my community and create change. I never thought I would be eager to return to Bakersfield CA, I disliked the city and that is why I left to Riverside. However, now more than ever I want to stay in Bakersfield because my community needs radical change and I want to create this through the perspective of education.

What advice do you have for entering undergraduates? The best advice that I can give to incoming undergraduates is to constantly tell yourself “I am capable.” You are capable of attending office hours and speaking to intimidating professors, you are capable of applying for that scholarship, going abroad and studying a different language, you are capable of attending conferences at prestigious schools to present your research, and more importantly you are capable of breaking systematic barriers. College can be an uncomfortable space to navigate, and many times you are going to have to push yourself through the uncomfortableness of it all to truly allow yourself to grow and succeed. You will not see change if nothing changes.

You’re graduating! What’s next? As an education major I learned that I can take upon many jobs that pertain to the field. I am currently applying for a job in my hometown in Bakersfield, CA as an early interventionist. During my time as an early interventionist I plan to work on doing research within Bakersfield on community excellence. I aspire to create a documentary to prove the point that Bakersfield has more than just cows, oil fields, and agriculture. I want to conduct interviews with folx who have succeeded and are from Bakersfield. After a year I hope to attend graduate school and receive my masters within education.